The National Electrification Administration (NEA) was commended by the Office of the President for acting promptly on the citizens’ concerns and complaints lodged through the government’s 8888 Citizens’ Complaint Center.
In a letter addressed to NEA Administrator Edgardo Masongsong, 8888 Citizens’ Complaint Center (CCC) Director Bernadette Casinabe recognized the agency’s efforts in ensuring that the citizens’ concerns and complaints are acted upon in a timely manner.
Introduced in 2016, the 8888 CCC serves as a mechanism where citizens may report their complaints and grievances regarding government services.
From January to October 2020, the 8888 CCC referred 389 complaints or tickets to the NEA for immediate action. Of this number, 389 tickets were acted upon or equivalent to 100 percent resolution rate, said Casinabe.
“We would like to commend your efforts in ensuring that all tickets are acted upon within the prescribed period,” Casinabe said in a letter dated November 23, 2020.
NEA Deputy Administrator for Electric Cooperatives Management Services (ECMS) Atty. Vicar Loureen Lofranco thanked the Office of the President for the commendation.
Lofranco also recognized the efforts of the Consumer Development and Protection Division (CDPD) under the Institutional Development Department of the NEA.
The CDPD is tasked to receive the complaints and refers these to the concerned electric cooperatives for them to address the same and/or to coordinate directly with the complainant so that they may be enlightened on the issue raised thereby precluding further complaints.
The NEA deputy administrator also thanked the partner electric cooperatives (ECs) for responding promptly and proactively on the consumer complaints that were coursed through the 8888 CCC. The ECs serve as the implementing arm of the NEA in the Rural Electrification Program of the government.
According to the NEA CDPD, most of the complaints received or endorsed to the agency pertain to the delivery of EC services or operations.
“On behalf of the NEA, we appreciate the preferential attention that the ECs give on the matter of complaints coursed through our office, particularly from the member-consumer-owners (MCOs) in their respective franchise areas; and, we gratefully acknowledge the efforts made by the concerned ECs in identifying measures/specific course of action for its immediate resolution. This kind of effort demonstrates the electric co-op’s earnest intention to further improve its service delivery to ably serve and protect the best interest of its electricity consumers and build better relationships with its partner MCOs,” Lofranco remarked.
According to the NEA CDPD, most of the complaints received or endorsed to the agency pertain to the delivery of EC services or operations, particularly on power interruptions (45 percent), billing issues/concerns (30 percent), electric service disconnections/reconnections (15 percent), and others (10 percent).
Introduced in 2016, the 8888 CCC serves as a mechanism where citizens may report their complaints and grievances regarding government services.
Pursuant to the minimum operating standards of the 8888 CCC, the citizen’s concern shall immediately be referred to the concerned government agency for appropriate action, which shall have a concrete and specific action within 72 hours from receipt of the concern. Failure of the government agency to respond in a timely manner will be considered grounds for administrative sanctions.
In a related development, the NEA was also awarded second runner-up in the Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) category at the 2020 Freedom of Information (FOI) Awards in recognition of the agency’s significant contribution to the FOI program’s progress and development.
In accepting the award during the 2020 FOI Awards ceremony held virtually on November 25, NEA Deputy Administrator for Legal Services Atty. Rossan Rosero-Lee thanked the FOI Philippines for the recognition, and assured that the agency will remain a steadfast partner of the Executive Branch in the advocacy of protecting the people’s right to information.