The Provincial Board of Benguet has followed Baguio City’s move to declare National Electrification Administration (NEA) lawyer Omar Mayo persona non grata (PNG), with 13 legislators voting in favor, with one abstention on Wednesday, November 3.

The provincial board was supposed to tackle the resolution last week. It postponed the deliberation to allow Mayo and former Presidential Communications Office assistant secretary and NEA-appointed Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco) general manager Ana Maria Rafael to air their side on the controversial Beneco takeover.

Mayo, who attended the session via zoom, reiterated that he was implementing NEA’s suspension order against officer-in-charge Melchor Licoben and the seven Beneco directors who rejected Rafael’s appointment. 

He added that the police decided to enter the Beneco compound at dawn of October 18. NEA critics called that event a “raid-like takeover“.

Members of the provincial board expressed dismay over the October 18 incident, calling it a “disrespect to the people of Benguet.”

NEA had informed Beneco of Mayo’s designation as project supervisor on September 28 to oversee its operation and help resolve the leadership impasse. The spat started with NEA’s appointment of  Rafael as general manager, a move rejected by the Beneco board that favored Licoben. 

Although cooperative members and employees took back the office two days after through a peaceful protest, offended local government units still pushed through with moves to declare Mayo unwelcome. The Provincial Board also passed a resolution during its October 23 session condemning the October 18 early dawn armed takeover of Beneco.

Rafael said she was not present during the takeover. However, she admitted being part of the October 17 meeting that planned it at PROCOR (Police Regional Office Cordillera) headquarters. She also confirmed that Mayo, Baguio Police Chief Colonel Glenn Lonogan, and Regional Director General Ronald Oliver Lee were at the meeting.  

“As for the entry of the PNP, upon the deputization of NEA to fully implement the suspension order, I ask for forgiveness, for the time it was implemented. The enforcement of the order is up for the PNP to decide, and Col. Lonogan explained during the City council session why the time has to be so,” Rafael reiterated. 

Lonogan, during the City Council session on October 23, said they decided to enter the Beneco compound office at 3 am to avoid possible resistance and violence from the supporters of Licoben. 

The proponent of the resolution Juan Nazaro, Jr., said the way NEA implemented the suspension order disrespected the customs and traditions of the people of Benguet. 

He said the board would verify also Rafael’s claim that she was not present during the armed takeover before deciding on a separate persona non grata resolution.

Asked about the Baguio City council declaring him persona non grata, Mayo said the move cannot supersede a person’s right to travel. The declaration is only an expression of sentiment, he added, citing the official position of the Department of Interior and Local Government.

Mayo was reminded that even local government units of Benguet and Baguio had issued resolutions supporting Licoben. On October 2, a PNG resolution against him was also passed during Beneco’s Annual General Membership Assembly (AGMA).

“In so far that NEA is concerned that AGMA does not hold any legal effect because it was not sanctioned by the CDA. Where is the rule of law if we just do what we want,” Mayo said.

Bernard Waclin, who abstained from his vote for the PNG resolution, said it would be better to file cases if indeed Mayo and Rafael committed violations. He also said some issues were not clear to him. He also abstained from the earlier resolution. – Rappler.com

Sherwin de Vera is a Luzon based journalist and an awardee of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship.