Barely 10 days before their 30-day preventive suspension order was to lapse, board president Eddie Guillem and OIC-general manager Noriel Bermudez of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative, were ordered terminated by the National Electrification Administration for committing administrative violations.

At the same time directors Jobert Tagobader, Gregorio Duremdes, Gerardo Solas, Perlito Fuentespina and Eduardo Torrecampo were also ordered suspended for 31 days effectively immediately.

Guillem, who is currently in the United States, and Bermudez were suspended on Feb. 22, 2007, along with three other directors of the CENECO board, pending the resolution of the administrative charges filed against them relative to the adverse audit findings of NEA on CENECO, covering the period Jan. 1, 2002 to Dec. 31, 2005.

CENECO legal counsel Enrique Tabino told the DAILY STAR two NEA representatives came to Bacolod City yesterday and served the order to the lawyers of the terminated officials.

Since Tagobader, Duremdes and Solas had also been slapped a 30-day preventive suspension with Guillem and Bermudez, the period of their earlier suspension will be credited in service of their present 31-day penalty, the order said.

The NEA order said that the penalties of removal were meted on Guillem and Bermudez pursuant to NEA Administrative Committee rules of procedure, with disqualifications for employment in any electric cooperative and to run in any future CENECO district election.

The order also denied the motion for reconsideration filed by Bermudez on the 30-day preventive suspension order.

In the administrative charges, the consumers were represented by NEA Director Veronica Cruz as nominal complainant while the respondents were the CENECO management and board of directors.

The NEA Board of Administrators, in its Feb. 16, 2007 order suspending Guillem, Bermudez and the three directors, said that "on the basis on the NEA-Electric Cooperatives Audit Department audit report and on the documents submitted before the AdCom, the charges against the respondents involve grave misconduct and open defiance to NEA Policy, Order and Issuances, with a corresponding penalty of removal on the first offense."

The administrative charges involve issues on the contract executed by Guillem and Bermudez with supplier Power Star Inc. using the Reinvestment Fund; irregularity in the contract executed with both Power Star Inc. and Pazifik Power Inc.; and Bermudez's act of promoting himself as manager of Consumer Accounts Department; and alleged failure of the management to abide with its by-laws in rehiring employees.

After Bermudez was suspended last month, NEA had named

Eddie Adlao as project supervisor for CENECO. Only directors Roberto Montelibano, Julius Tamayo and Cesar Leonardia now remain in the CENECO board.

Montelibano said he now acts as presiding officer and is also the co-signatory of Adlao in the checks being issued for CENECO payments.*NLG

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