Section 9Sec./Art. 9

Section 16, paragraph (j) of Presidential Decree No. 269, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 16. Powers. A cooperative is hereby vested with all powers necessary or convenient for the accomplishment of its corporate purpose and capable of being delegated by the President or the National Assembly when it comes into existence; and no enumeration of particular powers hereby granted shall be construed to impair any general grant of power herein contained, nor to limit any such grant to a power or powers of the same class as those so enumerated. Such powers shall include, but not be limited to, the power:

"x x x

"(j) To construct, acquire, own, operate and maintain electric subtransmission and distribution lines along, upon, under and across publicly owned lands and public thoroughfares, including, without limitation, all roads, highways, streets, alleys, bridges and causeways. In the event of the need of such lands and thoroughfares for the primary purpose of the government, the electric cooperative shall be properly compensated;

"(j-1) To construct, acquire, own, operate and maintain generating facilities within its franchise area. In pursuance thereof, where an electric cooperative participates in a bid on an existing NPC-SPUG generating facility, its qualified bid shall be given preference m case of a tie: Provided, however, That in cases where there is no other qualified bidder, the lone bid shall remain as valid basis for the determination of the final award subject to the following conditions:

"(a) bid offer is not lower than the valuation of the assets using Commission on Audit (COA) rules and regulations;

"(b) electric cooperative is prepared to fully take over the generation function of the area from the NPC-SPUG; and

"(c) electric cooperative submits its graduation program from the Universal Charge for Missionary Electrification (UC-ME) subsidy.

"x x x."