San Miguel Corp. secures board seats in Meralco

MANILA, Philippines - Senior executives of San Miguel Corp. – led by its chairman Eduardo M. Cojuangco Jr., president Ramon S. Ang, and director Estelito P. Mendoza – have secured board seats in the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the Philippines’ largest power distributor. Their individual appointments to Meralco’s board came two weeks after the same San Miguel executives were nominated to the board of Petron Corp., the Philippines’ largest oil company. These two moves represent San Miguel’s foray into high-growth industries such as energy, telecommunications, and utilities, a strategy employed by the conglomerate to further enhance its shareholder value, industry observers earlier said. San Miguel’s representation in the 11-member Meralco board also symbolizes the Cojuangco group’s incursion into a Lopez-led company. Cojuangco, a known associate of former president Ferdinand E. Marcos, is also considered as a political rival of the Lopezes, family members of whom were exiled in the US during Marcos rule. Besides Cojuangco, Ang, and Mendoza, Aurora Calderon, a consultant to the SMC president, was also named to the Meralco board. All four replaced the nominees of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), a previous Meralco stockholder which sold its stake to San Miguel in late October last year. San Miguel paid P26 billion for GSIS’ 27 percent stake in the Lopez-led company, a transaction valued at P90 per share. The Lopez group owns 34 percent of Meralco, making it the controlling shareholder. Next: Meralco appoints new president Meralco appoints new president In the same statement issued by Meralco, the company said that effective February 1, its new president and chief operating officer is Jose “Ping" de Jesus, a public works secretary who served under presidents Corazon C. Aquino and Fidel V. Ramos. De Jesus, who also appointed to Meralco’s board of directors, replaces Jesus “Chito" Francisco, who earlier announced his retirement as president after serving the company for 37 years. Francisco, however, will remain as a member of the Board. De Jesus, who was recently president and chief executive officer of the Manila North Tollways Corporation, is expected to steer Meralco amidst many impending business changes in the electric power industry. “De Jesus will always be remembered and credited as having steered and guided the MNTC from severe public criticism to understanding and acceptance of the then toll rates of MNTC," Meralco said. This achievement “was dubbed as one of the most successful business plans in the decade for which de Jesus won the coveted 2005 CEO (Communication Excellence in Organizations) excel awards given by the International Association of Business Communicators," the company said. Currently, de Jesus sits as a member of the Investment and Finance Committee of the First Philippine Holdings Corporation. He was Executive Vice President of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) from 1993 to 1999 and Chairman of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System from 1992 to 1993. “I am sure that many in the business community view these changes as a positive development since the new members of the Board bring with them a wealth of experience in ensuring the continued strength and viability of Meralco," Manuel M. Lopez, Meralco chairman and chief executive officer, said. - GMANews.TV