Engineer Oscar Pascua completed his electrical engineering course at FEATI University in 1985. He was immediately hired by the National Electrification Administration (NEA) and assigned to various units within the organization. In 1994, he was promoted to Chief Planning Officer and tasked with supervising planning activities within his unit. He managed a team of three engineers and two other employees who reported directly to him. Pascua’s performance was rated as very satisfactory.
Engineer Pascua attended various training sessions, including management courses. He completed his M.B.A. in 1995. In January 1996, the position of general manager at Buena Vista Electric Cooperative, Inc. (BECI) became available and he was nominated by NEA and ultimately appointed to the position in March of that year. Upon taking office, Engineer Pascua quickly began addressing the many problems facing the cooperative. During a meeting with key officers of BECI, he was informed of several issues.
The price of electricity charged to BECI’s customers is the fifth highest in the country. Additionally, 25 percent of the electricity service provided by BECI is lost every month and cannot be accounted for. Requisitions for supplies and materials are served after delays as long as three months, and some employees of the cooperative do not report regularly for work. Furthermore, there has been an increasing amount of uncollected accounts. Three days after the meeting, he recommended to the board of directors that they address these issues.
Engineer Pascua’s recommendations were approved by the board, which included:
- The dismissal of employees who do not regularly report for work
- A salary increase of up to 20 percent for every employee on the payroll
- The hiring of eight additional employees
- The formation of a team to investigate and recommend measures to minimize system loss”
After approval, Engineer Pascua signed all necessary memoranda to implement his programs. He also conducted regular inspections of the various units within the cooperative.
During the first week of March 1997, he convened a meeting with key officers to evaluate the previous year’s activities. The following points were made clear:
- The price of electricity could not be reduced for BECI’s customers because there was no reduction in the overall cost of doing business.
- The system loss, which was at 25 percent, increased to 26 percent instead of decreasing.
- There was no improvement in the requisition process for supplies and materials; delays still reached three months.
There is a new group of employees who are not reporting regularly for work. Additionally, the amount of uncollected accounts has increased from Php3.8 to Php4.2 million. Engineer Pascua has concluded that despite granting salary increases requested by the rank and file, there has been no subsequent improvement in services. He is now considering more drastic measures but is unsure if it’s the right thing to do. Furthermore, he is aware that there are some employees who are qualified and dedicated to their jobs.
