Manila: Malacañang has reinstated Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Chair Monalisa Dimalanta after the Office of the Ombudsman lifted the preventive suspension order issued against her. In a memorandum Wednesday, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin ordered the immediate reinstatement of Dimalanta as Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the ERC, citing the Ombudsman decision. According to Philippines News Agency, Dimalanta was placed under a six-month suspension without pay last September to avoid prejudicing the case filed against her by the National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms Inc (Nasecore). In its complaint, Nasecore claimed that Dimalanta allowed the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) to purchase electricity from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) and pass the charges on to consumers without obtaining the necessary approval from the ERC, allegedly in violation of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA). The Ombudsman, in its Oct. 22 order, stated that aft er a thorough evaluation of the present case records, the office found that the ground which justified the continued imposition of preventive suspension no longer exists. Therefore, the preventive suspension is no longer necessary.