Ignite Power, a partnership of Razon-led Primelectric Holdings Inc. and Manny Pacquiao’s MP Holdings, today (April 30, 2026) said no formal negotiations are ongoing for its proposed joint venture with South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative (SOCOTECO II), stressing that the final decision should rest with the cooperative’s member-consumer-owners (MCOs).
The company issued the statement during a recent media forum in General Santos City, which gathered stakeholders and members of the press to discuss SOCOTECO II’s current status and future direction.
Responding to questions on the proposed partnership, Ignite Power’s legal officer, Atty. Allana Mae Babayen-on said the company and SOCOTECO II’s Board of Directors have no agreement finalized.
“There are no negotiations at all, and the most that we heard from the board of directors of SOCOTECO II was an initial acceptance of the offer,” Babayen-on said. “Nothing has been accepted. Nothing has been negotiated.”
She stressed that the proposed joint venture should not be decided solely by the cooperative’s board or selected groups, but by the entire membership base of SOCOTECO II. “And I like what they said about ‘let us decide.’ That is exactly our point… We want to ask the MCOs, and it is part of our proposal. We want to ask each and every one of you [MCOs] are you for the Joint Venture?”
“So it’s not the board of directors, it’s not some of the members, it’s the total MCOs. So that’s the 300,000 [MCOs] that we wanted to ask to decide,” she added.
Babayen-on was referring to the referendum requirement under Presidential Decree No. 269, which mandates that joint ventures must secure approval from a qualified majority — or 50 percent plus one — of all active member-consumer-owners.
Meanwhile, Ignite’s counsel pushed back against claims describing SOCOTECO II as an “ailing cooperative.” She said such characterization is inaccurate under existing laws governing electric cooperatives. “It [SOCOTECO II] is not an ailing cooperative,” she stressed.
“SOCOTECO II is not ailing, otherwise we would not be here at all. According to the law, if an electric cooperative is ailing, NEA steps in. So we cannot even offer a proposal if it is ailing,” she explained. She added that the cooperative is just going through difficult times that’s why Ignite has made a joint venture offer.
The lawyer maintained that Ignite’s offer is the best offer that will ultimately benefit SOCOTECO II’s consumers. “Electricity is no longer just a commodity; it is a basic human right.”
