IRIGA CITY –- General Manager Pedro Prestado Jr. of the Camarines Sur III Electric Cooperative (CASURECO III) has kept mum over the upcoming district elections of the Board of Directors of the Rinconada-based power coop which covers nine districts.

        This, after the office of the deputy administrator for Electric Distribution Utilities Services (EDUS) of the National Electrification Administration (NEA) recently denied Prestados’ request for postponement of said elections from March 2008 to March 2009.

        In a letter, dated January 15, 2008, deputy Administrator Pablo M. Pan II reminded Prestado of the NEA Memorandum No. 2005-018, dated June 7, 2005 prohibiting further deferment of district elections to afford the concerned members of the board the opportunity to obtain a fresh mandate from their respective constituent member-consumers.

        “In this regard, please be informed that we cannot favorably act on your request, thus, you are hereby directed to conduct elections as scheduled, not later than March 31, 2008,” the letter stated.

        Pan’s message was NEA’s reply to Prestado’s letter-request addressed to Administrator Edita Bueno last November 19, 2007 for the deferment of said elections for reasons only known to him.

        “We’re really not aware of such letter-request,” a department head, who spoke on condition of anonymity said in a phone interview.

        A proposed tentative schedule of board’s elections, according to Bicol Mail sources had already been forwarded to Prestado’s office but no action has been made by him or even by the Board of Directors about such proposal.

        It will be recalled that Prestado was named as respondent in two separate administrative complaint filed against him by five Casureco employees before the NEA Administrative Committee (AdCom) for alleged irregularities, an allegation which he consistently denied including the reported overpriced purchase of kilowatt-hour meters early this month involving hundred thousands of pesos.

        Apart from Prestado, also named as co-respondents were: Administrative Officer Perfecto Gascon, Board President Fabio Dinero (Nabua North) and members, Salvador Barbosa Jr. (Iriga North) Florentino Bagayawa (Iriga South) Leonardo Gabalfin (Buhi) Osmundo Ubaldo (Bula) Ananias Gonzales 9Bato) Norma Bravo (Baao) Warlito Carballo (Balatan) and Narciso Llorin of Nabua South District.

        Except for Bagayawa and Llorin, all the rest are identified with the Villafuertes which include Barbosa who was ousted as Board President and subsequently resigned as member of the Board when he decided to run and lost during the 2007 mayoralty elections.