HOUSE APPROVES FRANCHISE OF LEYECO II

On December 5, 2022, the House of Representatives approved on Third and Final Reading House Bill 6295, granting the Leyte II Electric Cooperative (LEYECO II) the Congressional franchise to operate and provide electric services to the City of Tacloban and the Municipalities of Babatngon and Palo, Province of Leyte.

In their sponsorship speech, the principal aut of the bill stated that LEYECO II was able to energize 100% of the barangays within their franchise area. Notably, LEYECO has been consistently categorized as a “AAA” cooperative, the highest categorization given by the supervising government agency for electric cooperatives, the National Electrification Administration.

According to Deputy Minority Leader Presley De Jesus, “the enactment of this bill will ensure the continuous delivery of electric service from LEYECO II and will continue to create the path towards progress in Leyte.”

HB 6295 is principally authored by the Power Bloc Representatives Presley De Jesus and Sergio Dagooc, House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, TINGOG Partylist Representatives Yedda Marie Romualdez and Jude Acidre, House Committee on Legislative Franchises Chairperson, Representative Gus Tambunting, Representative Pablo John Garcia, and Representative Edward

“The passage of HB 6295 is a huge win for the whole electric cooperative movement. This solidifies its position as a trusted partner in achieving total electrification of the country and ensuring a brighter future for generations to come,” De Jesus said.

In a statement, LEYECO II expressed their gratitude to the principal authors of HB 6295, saying, “Thank you for ensuring that we will be able to continue to serve the Leyteños by upholding our mandate of total rural electrification. Padayon kita nga mamamati han tingog han mga mulopyo ug maghahatag hin lamrag han kinabuhi…”

Electric Coops May Avail Real Property Tax Exemption

In line with their commitment to supporting electric cooperatives (ECs), Power Bloc Representatives Presley De Jesus of PHILRECA Party-list and Rep. Sergio Dagooc of APEC Party-list wrote a letter addressed to Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in an effort to revisit the 2014 DOJ Opinion No. 55 regarding Real Property Tax (RPT) Exemption.

In their letter, the Power Bloc highlighted the exemption from income taxes granted to ECs under Section 39 of Presidential Decree No. 269, as amended by the Republic Act No. 10531. However, this exemption was stripped away by the Local Government Code (LGC) of 1991, which allowed for the withdrawal of exemptions from local taxes for various entities, excluding registered cooperatives, non-profit hospitals, and educational institutions.

this would have on consumers stating “the imposition of tax on a non-profit cooperative shall result in the increase of the amount payable on the electricity bill of the consumers since it is considered as a pass-through charge. Ultimately, the end consumers shall shoulder the burden of these taxes.”