Consumer group Power for People Coalition (P4P) slammed Manila Electric Company (Meralco) after it announced a rate increase for November, a day after Super Typhoon Uwan devastated Luzon, displacing 1.4 million Filipinos, including those in Meralco franchise areas.
“The loss and devastation brought by Uwan in Luzon is staggering. Aurora and Albay have declared a combined 4B losses in agriculture and infrastructure. People from Meralco franchise areas were not spared–in CALABARZON, 63,700 individuals have been evacuated from at least 81 cities and municipalities, Bulacan has remained submerged in floodwater due to heavy rainfall and the Angat Dam overflow, and Quezon City has seen its highest number of evacuees at 8,000 individuals due to flooding and strong winds,” says Gerry Arances, convenor of P4P.
“While help is pouring in from citizens and businesses alike, Meralco is doing the exact opposite — amidst catastrophic headlines, they shamelessly announced a raise in the price of electricity, a basic service that people are in desperate need of in times of calamity so they can contact their loved ones, receive help, and go back to work to afford repairs from damages brought by the typhoon,” he added.
P4P in September 8 filed a petition for certiorari in the Court of Appeals, calling on the court to investigate anomalous contracts of Meralco with generation companies that were greenlit by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), despite concerns on double-charging, ownership, and abuse of dominance.
“Meralco goes on with business-as-usual and are profiting in millions while their consumers are drowning. Secretary Sharon Garin herself has admitted that gas plants are expensive, and yet they have gone into long-term contracts with fossil gas and LNG power plants, namely South Premiere Power Corporation (SPPC) and Energy Excellent Resources, Inc. (EERI) which passes on extra costs to consumers to maintain their profits,” says Arances.
The DOE also released an advisory on the clarification of coal moratorium exemptions on October 14, allowing coal plants to be built in off-grid areas, for industry use, for mining of transition minerals, and during times of power crisis.
“The continued use of coal and gas is contradictory to what the Philippines needs right now, especially as typhoons and climate change impacts worsen. Fossil fuels are not only expensive, they are also the highest contributors to climate change and are polluting the planet. This tolerated evil for business interests at the expense of the lives of our brothers and sisters should not be allowed to continue,” says Bishop Gerry Alminaza, convenor of the Laudato Si Convergence.
“These are the dangers of privatizing our basic services. Business-as-usual will always come first. We are calling on Meralco to put people over profits, especially in a state of calamity,” added Bishop Alminaza.
