03/09/2026
Voting time: 8:00AM-3:00PM @ Polonuling Central Elementary School
๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ง ๐๐๐,๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ๐ญ๐ ๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ญ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ
GENERAL SANTOS CITY โ More than 200,000 member-consumer-owners (MCOs) of the South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative (SOCOTECO II) will decide this September whether to approve a proposed joint venture with IGNITE Power, a move that cooperative officials say is designed to improve the electricity distribution in General Santos City, Sarangani Province, and parts of South Cotabato.
SOCOTECO II President Elenito Senit announced that the Board of Directors has approved a series of resolutions implementing the decisions adopted during the cooperativeโs 43rd Annual General Membership Assembly (AGMA), including the conduct of a plebiscite on the proposed Conditional Joint Venture Agreement (JVA).
Under the approved schedule, the plebiscite will be conducted over four weekendsโSeptember 5-6, 12-13, 19-20, and 26-27, 2026โto allow the widest possible participation of member-consumer-owners throughout the cooperativeโs franchise area in line with the directives of the NEA.
โThe Board deemed it necessary to hold the voting over several weekends to give all qualified member-consumers ample opportunity to participate in this historic decision,โ Senit said.
The Board likewise adopted the AGMA resolutions, including the approval of Board Resolution No. 104 that authorizes the signing of the conditional Joint Venture Agreement, the conduct of the plebiscite, and the membersโ expression of overwhelming support for the proposed Conditional JVA.
To oversee the voting process, the Board also approved the creation of an Overall Plebiscite Committee (PlebComm), which has been tasked to formulate and adopt the plebiscite rules and guidelines, supervise the conduct of the voting, and lead an extensive Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaign beginning August 7.
SOCOTECO II said IEC forums will be conducted across all districts to explain the provisions of the proposed agreement and enable member-consumer-owners to make an informed decision before the plebiscite.
The cooperative also fixed August 6, 2026 as the cut-off date for eligible voters. Before the plebiscite, a validation and cleansing of membership records will be undertaken to remove duplicate accounts, deceased members, and inactive accounts to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the official votersโ list.
The proposed joint venture comes as SOCOTECO II continues to confront financial and operational challenges. The electric cooperative has reported consecutive annual financial losses accumulated to โฑ2.1 billion as of December 2025, increasing system losses to 14%, which causes โฑ40 million monthly losses, aging distribution facilities, and the need for substantial capital investments to rehabilitate and expand its network.
Cooperative officials have previously disclosed that approximately โฑ2 billion yearly will be needed over the next five years to fully rehabilitate and modernize the distribution system. The utility has also experienced a decline in its operational performance, resulting in its downgrading by the National Electrification Administration (NEA) from Category AAA to Category B.
According to SOCOTECO II, the proposed Conditional Joint Venture Agreement seeks to address these long-standing challenges by bringing in private-sector capital, technology, and technical expertise to modernize distribution facilities while improving operational efficiency and service reliability.
The proposed rehabilitation program includes the upgrading and additional substations, replacement of aging distribution lines and equipment, expansion of network capacity, deployment of modern distribution technologies, and improvement of customer service systems to meet the growing electricity demand in General Santos City, Sarangani Province, Polomolok, and Tupi. Ignite has commited to immediately begin implementation of these projects upon compliance with the conditions under the cjva and without raising rates within the 1st two years of operations.
The partnership remains subject to the 50% plus one approval of all the member-consumers through a plebiscite, consistent with the requirements of Presidential Decree No. 269, as amended.
SOCOTECO II officials urged all qualified member-consumer-owners to participate in the ongoing IEC activities and cast their votes during the September plebiscite, describing the exercise as one of the most democratic and significant decisions in the electric cooperativeโs history.
The outcome of the plebiscite will determine whether SOCOTECO II shall retain its status quo or proceed with the proposed partnership with IGNITE Power as part of its long-term strategy to rehabilitate and modernize the electric distribution system.
