04/08/2026
GENERAL SANTOS CITY — An energy advocacy group is raising alarms that South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative Inc.’s proposed joint venture with Ignite Power risks privatizing the utility without genuine member approval.
In a series of statements released July 27–28, Nic Satur Jr., chief advocate officer of Partners for Affordable & Reliable Energy (PARE), called for thorough diagnostic reforms and operational transparency rather than a rapid transition to private control.
While acknowledging that SOCOTECO II requires management improvements, system loss reduction, and capital for infrastructure rehabilitation, Satur warned against accelerating approvals through procedural shortcuts.
"Modernization that sidelines the MCOs, the very people who own the cooperative, is not modernization — it is privatization and control by another name," Satur said.
Satur cited rushed timelines, incomplete disclosures, and contested board resolutions surrounding the joint venture vote during the July 25 assembly. He questioned why competing proposals were not evaluated in an open, transparent process prior to dividing the membership.
The group also questioned the regulatory strategy of the National Electrification Administration, asking whether the agency remains committed to consumer-owned electric cooperatives or has shifted toward privatization.
Satur reiterated that long-term utility performance must be built on transparent reform that respects the ownership rights of member-consumer-owners.
It was reported that 32,000 member-consumer owners (MCOs) “endorsed” the SOCOTECO II–Ignite joint venture during the cooperative’s 43rd Annual General Membership Assembly.
Concerned groups—including Bantay Kuryente Consumer Watch Inc., the pro-CDA conversion bloc, and other civic organizations—testified that satellite venues lacked the facilities to participate in the discussion.
Microphones of consumers raising questions were reportedly turned off, and voting was pushed through despite objections and without transparent, verifiable counting. Videos of these testimonies from the assembly have since gone viral online.
PARE Consumers has questioned the validity of the reported count and the fairness of the AGMA proceedings.
The group is urging the House of Representatives, National Electrification Administration, Energy Regulatory Commission, and Department of Energy to investigate.
“Let us not rely on PR headlines alone, but investigate what really happened on the ground,” Satur said.
