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BY PRINCE GOLEZ
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MANILA – Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian called on the Senate to investigate the corruption allegations written by the late director Francisco “Jun” Villa Jr. of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) in his suicide notes.
Last Nov. 9, only five days after he resigned from his post, Villa took his own life allegedly due to work pressure as chief of the agency’s Bids and Awards Committee.
Gatchalian said that the official’s claims “indicate the possibility of widespread corruption” in the regulatory agency.
“The ERC is tasked to insulate the power industry from vested interests and corruption. Corruption within the body itself could result in the proliferation of anti-competitive behavior which would be disastrous to the stability of our electricity supply. ERC officials should be ready with a solid explanation which will put any doubts regarding their integrity to rest,” the senator said.
The chief of the Senate Committee on Energy said his committee will ensure an “impartial” investigation into the allegations of corruption against prominent ERC officials.
“We won’t make any pre-judgments, but we will certainly seek out the truth. A good man and respected public servant took his own life over this. We owe it to his memory to at least look into the allegations he made,” Gatchalian said.
Reports said the 54-year-old lawyer drafted three suicide notes three months before he shot himself in the temple with a Smith and Wesson .38 caliber revolver inside his house.
In one of his letters, Villa expressed fear of being called to account for the “(audio-visual presentation) by Luis Morelos which the chairman and CEO, Jose Vicente B. Salazar, chose through a rigged selection system.”/PN
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