Meralco controversy drags Capitol dad into fray
Defensor Jr. all set to file counter on syndicated estafa raps
Latest controversy on the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has now dragged into the fray a respected member of the Iloilo Provincial Board.
Named as among the respondents for a syndicated estafa complaint was Third District Board Member Arthur Defensor Jr. in his capacity as member of the Meralco board.
In an interview, Defensor Jr. told The News Today (TNT) that as a matter of course, he will file his counter-affidavit and heed the order of the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Yet since January of this year, Defensor Jr. has resigned from the Meralco post. This, he clarified, had nothing to do with the controversy faced by the company.
"I resigned way before the issues against Meralco came out… I became a member of the board back in 2005 or 2006 though," he acknowledged.
The DOJ order subpoenaed top Meralco officials led by chairman Manuel Lopez. As such, Defensor Jr. will join former associates here in a preliminary investigation set in the morning of July 8.
The syndicated estafa complaint was filed in May by members of the National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms (Nasecore).
The group alleged that Meralco by declaring as income the interests earned by the consumers’ deposits constituted misappropriation.
"I have not received my subpoena yet but the complaint has something to do with the meter deposits… interest-issues…," Defensor Jr. added.