Suspension illegal, says PSALM chief

Calling his suspension “patently illegal,” Power Sector Assets & Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) president and CEO Emmanuel R. Ledesma Jr. has questioned the move by the state firm’s board of directors and has taken his argument to Malacañang.

In a letter to the Office of the Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs, Ledesma requested a legal opinion on whether the PSALM board had the authority to suspend him as president and CEO and to designate an officer-in-charge.

Ledesma, who had stayed mum since last week’s press release by the Department of Finance on his suspension, also said in a statement that it is the Office of the President which has authority to probe complaints against him and to suspend him if needed.

Ledesma was appointed by President Aquino as the CEO and president of PSALM in September 2010.

Ledesma’s lawyers also apparently “took exception to the malicious press pelease” which allegedly suppressed the truth and circumstances around his suspension.

Earlier on, the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) made a recommendation to replace the PSALM president based on an alleged complaint by a group called Concerned Employees of PSALM.