Section 1. Purpose.
- It is the purpose of these rules to aid anyone who wishes to appear
before the Energy Regulatory Commission and participate in any
proceeding before it. It is the Commission’s intention to be accessible
and to make its Rules of Practice and Procedure clear and understandable
for the parties, their attorneys, and the general public.
Section 2.
Application of Rules. - Unless otherwise stated, these rules apply to
all proceedings before the Commission where the Commission is required
under prevailing laws, rules and guidelines to hold a hearing or to
afford to the parties to the proceeding before it an opportunity for a
hearing before making a decision.
Section 3. General
Powers of the Commission under these Rules. - The Commission may issue
general or specific procedural directions at any time, including before
or during any proceeding.
The Commission
may also exempt itself from these rules in the broader interest of
justice and apply such suitable procedure that shall secure the just and
expeditious determination of the matters in issue.
Section 4.
Construction of these Rules. - These rules shall be liberally construed
to secure the most expeditious and least expensive determination of
every proceeding before the Commission on its merits, consistent,
however, with the requirements of justice.
Section 5. Application
of the Rules of Court. - In the absence of any applicable provision in
these rules, the pertinent provisions of the Supreme Court of the
Philippines’ Rules of Court and Rules on Electronic Evidence may, in the
interest of expeditious disposition of the cases pending before the
Commission and whenever practicable and convenient, be applied
suppletorily or by analogy.