TOP officials of Manila Electric Co. have been selling some of their shareholdings in the past few days to take advantage of the power distributor’s skyrocketing share price, records show.

The officials cashed in even as the utility climbed for a fourth day yesterday—and by 13 percent to a record P126 a share—rounding out a 41-percent rally on speculation three groups were buying shares that they would be entitled to use at the annual stockholders’ meeting in May.

The share price of the country’s largest power retailer also surged on Thursday, and by 22 percent to P112, the highest since records that date to 1992. That gain came amid speculation the utility’s biggest owners were accumulating shares to gain control.

The same day, San Miguel Corp. president Ramon Ang said the food and beverage giant would not solicit proxies to gain the upper hand in the stockholders’ meeting.

He said San Miguel had not bought additional shares in Meralco since it acquired 27 percent of the utility from the Government Service Insurance System, the pension fund manager.

A newspaper reported earlier this week that Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. had bought 3 percent of Meralco.

It also said that the company’s managing director, Manuel Pangilinan, had agreed to help the Lopez family, which owns 34 percent of the utility, retain control against a possible takeover bid from San Miguel.

Meralco told the Stock Exchange that executive vice president Ricardo Buencamino sold 2,948 shares at P92 a share on March 4, while treasurer Rafael Andrada disposed of 5,115 shares at P105 a share on March 5.

Meralco president and chief operating officer Jose de Jesus sold 40,000 shares at P105 a share, and assistant corporate secretary Anthony Rosete disposed of 1,000 shares at P96 a share.

As the utility’s share price continued to climb, the Stock Exchange yesterday asked Meralco to justify the increase in its share price and in the volume of shares traded for the past 20 days.

“Kindly explain and/or disclose if you know of any reason that would justify the run-up in the price of your company’s shares,” the Stock Exchange said in a letter to the utility.

“We have also noted the steep increase in the price of the company’s shares. However, we are not aware of any definite or specific reason that is driving up the share price,” disclosure officer Anthony Rosete replied. Jenniffer B. Austria with Bloomberg