Section 10Sec./Art. 10

A new section, to be designated as Section 26-A of Presidential Decree No. 269, as amended, is hereby inserted to read as follows:

"SEC. 26-A. Independence of the Board of Directors and Officers of Electric Cooperatives. To ensure the long-term business and economic viability of electric cooperatives, the management, operations and strategic planning of electric cooperatives shall, as much as practicable, be insulated from local politics.

"Towards this end, no person shall be elected or appointed as an officer or be eligible to run as a board member of an electric cooperative if:

"(a) such person or his or her spouse holds any public office;

"(b) such person or his or her spouse has been a candidate in the last preceding local or national elections;

"(c) such person has been convicted by final judgment of a crime involving moral turpitude;

"(d) such person has been terminated for cause from public office or private employment;

"(e) such person is related to any member of the electric cooperative board of directors, general manager and department managers within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity;

"(f) such person is a representative of a juridical person; and

"(g) such person is employed by or financially interested in a competing enterprise or a business selling electric energy or electrical hardware to the cooperative or doing business with the cooperative, including the use or rental of poles."