PSALM names another woman CEO

Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corp. officer in charge Lourdes S. Alzona has been formally named chief executive at the state firm, a move seen to resolve the leadership vacuum there following the suspension of her predecessor, Emmanuel R. Ledesma, Jr.

She is the second woman CEO at the state firm.

In a letter dated July 30, President Aquino appointed Alzona to the PSALM board as Ledesma’s replacement “for the unexpired term of office that began on 01 July 2015 and will end on 30 June 2016.”

Following the appointment, the state firm’s board of directors elected Alzona as president and chief executive in a meeting held yesterday.

With the appointment, Alzona became the sixth chief executive of PSALM, succeeding Edgardo M. del Fonso, Raphael Perpetuo M. Lotilla, Nieves L. Osorio, Jose C. Ibazeta, and Ledesma.

Alzona is a certified public accountant. A Business Administration graduate from the Philippine Women’s University, she has been in public service for 33 years.

Before joining PSALM, Alzona was with the National Power Corp. (Napocor) for more than 20 years.

Having assumed various executive positions in Napocor, she gained extensive experience and training in corporate budgeting, treasury management, controllership, financial analysis and management accounting, PSALM said on its website.

Alzona was initially hired as a consultant at PSALM in 2003 before being appointed as manager of the Energy Market Settlement Department.

When she transferred to the Controllership Department in 2004, the department was heralded as the Most Outstanding Accounting Office –Government Corporate Sector by the Association of Government Accountants of the Philippines.

In July 2008, she joined PSALM’s management team as vice president of the Finance Group. She served as chief finance officer until her appointment as OIC on May 5, 2015.

PSALM, tasked by law to privatize the assets and manage the debts of Napocor, was rocked by the suspension of Ledesma in May.

PSALM held a “principals’ board meeting” on May 5 and resolved to place Ledesma under a 90-day preventive suspension. PSALM remains mum about the reason for his suspension until now.

The Governance Commission for GOCCs, through a representative, had also declined to comment on the matter.

Sources alleged the main reason for the suspension was PSALM’s decision to change the mode of procurement for the rehabilitation works in the Agus hydropower power plant.

Sans backing from the PSALM board of directors, Ledesma allegedly switched from a competitive bidding to a negotiated bidding for the rehabilitation of a unit of the Agus 6 hydropower plant.

Under Ledesma, PSALM also allegedly received “pre-payments” from transmission system operator National Grid Corp. of the Philippines for its remaining concession fees.

PSALM also lost a class action suit that required the state firm to pay over P60.24 billion to former employees of Napocor.