Dennis Gaviola

Article (news)

Adrian Ayalin

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The Court of Appeals Special 7th Division has reversed the order of the Energy Regulatory Commission to revoke the Provisional Authority to Operate (PAO) granted to Villar-owned Siquijor Island Power Corporation or SIPCOR.In the decision of the court promulgated on July 24, 2026, the petition for review filed by SIPCOR was granted because the ERC failed to afford due process in revoking the PAOs of SIPCOR’s generation units.The court noted that the power situation in Siquijor demanded swift and decisive action from the ERC.“Even so, due process cannot be sacrificed for mere expediency,” the court said in the decision penned by Associate Justice Bonifacio Pascua.SIPCOR had maintained that the ERC’s decision last year revoking all its PAOs is void for lack of procedural due process because the commission failed to follow its own rules mandating the issuance of a show cause order.In the June 16, 2025 order of the ERC, operational and regulatory deficiencies as well as consumer complaints alleging daily power outages lasting 5 to 10 hours over several years were noted.Almost a month later, in the July 3, 2025 order of the ERC, SIPCOR was ordered to submit sworn statements and documents such as complaint letters, internal maintenance protocols, inventory records, among others.SIPCOR, however, alleged that the ERC orders were merely fact-finding directives which did not state any specific violation.The CA said there was no indication that SIPCOR was apprised that the proceedings had transformed into a quasi-judicial adjudication where its authority to operate was at stake.“SIPCOR cannot be faulted for failing to mount a proper explanation against a sanction it was not informed was being considered,” the court said.The court, however, emphasized that it is not absolving SIPCOR nor diminishing the ERC’s power to revoke PAOs under the Republic Act No. 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act or EPIRA Law.“That power is undisputed, but its exercise must be attended by due process. Having that power is one thing, wielding it is another,” the CA said.

The Court of Appeals Special 7th Division has reversed the ERC's order to revoke the Provisional Authority to Operate granted to Villar-owned Siquijor Island Power Corporation or SIPCOR.

The Court of Appeals Special 7th Division has reversed the ERC's order to revoke the Provisional Authority to Operate granted to Villar-owned Siquijor Island Power Corporation or SIPCOR.

CA reverses ERC’s revocation of SIPCOR’S authority to operate

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CA reverses ERC’s revocation of SIPCOR’S authority to operate

Adrian Ayalin,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 19, 2026 06:48 PM PHT

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SIPCOR

Energy Regulatory Commission

ERC

Siquijor

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