The Sec. Lotilla Poser

Former Energy Secretary Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla is qualified to head the Department of Energy since he is just an independent director of the listed shares and therefore does not possess the disqualifications cited in the Act that created the said department.

Photo Insert: Department of Energy Secretary Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla

As an independent director, he is not actually a part of management and is just tasked to ensure that there are no insider dealings nor other corporate frauds and mismanagement as he is considered an outsider looking in.

After all, the concept of naming Independent Directors in listed companies is precisely the reason why the Securities and Exchange Commission, now headed by CPA lawyer Emilio Aquino, adopted the concept first made in the West after the financial misdeeds in listed investment houses around the world that resulted in their corporate demise.

We believe that all that the Marcos administration needs is to clarify the status of an Independent Director and forthwith proceed with the appointment of Mr. Lotilla, a lawyer who has an extensive experience in the NEDA prior to being drafted in the said department during the incumbency of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Mr. Lotilla is another brilliant choice of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the country should be allowed to have his expertise.

With the economic headwinds that is buffeting all countries from the inflation spike arising from the Ukraine crisis to the huge P12 trillion debt due to the pandemic, the government needs “all hands on deck” to journey to what the administration projects as lower poverty incidence, higher economic growth and better economic opportunities for the populace.

It should be noted that the SEC conducts seminars for those who are to be named Independent Directors in listed companies.

Thus, all that the administration needs is to seek the opinion of the SEC, which had earned plaudits for its extensive adherence to best practices, a legacy from the former SEC Chairman Rosario N. Lopez, under whose watch the present SEC head was then part of. It was during the time of Chairman Lopez when the commission, then a quasi-judicial body, was winning cases before the courts from decisions that the commission then promulgated.

The naming of Mr. Lotilla and the subsequent clarification therefrom on his appointment stems from Section 8 of Republic Act 7638, or the Act Creating the Department of Energy, which provides that individuals from private companies engaged in the energy industry are only eligible to be appointed as secretary within 2 years from their retirement, resignation or separation from the company.

In our view, Mr. Lotilla cannot be considered to be part of the management nor of the companies where he sits as Independent Director as he is just sitting there to ensure that no corporate fraud happens.

In a sense, he is not part of management but an “outsider” meant to see to it that the listed companies do not engage in insider dealings and other corporate shenanigans.

So, the government should proceed with the appointment of Sec. Lotilla and allow the country to benefit from his expertise. After all, the country has the dubious distinction of having the most expensive energy rates and it is time for the administration to tame the energy prices that serves as a deterrent to the entry of foreign investors.

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