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Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian holds a press conference at the DSWD Central Office in Quezon City on Feb. 3, 2023.
The STAR / Jesse Bustos
MANILA, Philippines — Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian said Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries should not be blamed for recent electric bill shock, saying their power use is too small to explain the spike in electricity charges.
In a televised interview cited by the Philippine News Agency, Gatchalian said only 411 4Ps households are enrolled in the Lifeline Subsidy Program, compared with Meralco’s 8.11 million residential, business and industrial customers.
“Hindi 4Ps ang rason kung bakit lumaki ang pag singil noong April,” Gatchalian said. (4Ps are not the reason why charges increased in April.)
He said the increase came from power distributor Meralco's generation charges, not from the lifeline subsidy.
Gatchalian said 4Ps households typically consume little electricity and that the subsidy amounts to less than half a centavo when spread across customer base.
"'Pag sinuma-total mo lahat, ang average niyan, wala pang kalahati ng sentimo ang napupunta sa lifeline rate—P0.040 centavos," Gatchalian said. (If you sum up everything, the average, not even half a cent goes to lifeline rate—P0.040 centavos.)
"Kasi nga ang 4Ps halos wala namang appliances sa bahay ‘yan para patakbuhin. [At most], isang electric fan at ilang bumbilya. So, hindi sila ang rason kung bakit sumipa ng ganun kalaki," Gatchalian added. (That is because they do not have appliances in their homes to consume electricity. At most, one electric fan and a few bulbs. So, they're not the reason why bills notched that high.)
Gatchalian: Review if costs are passed on
Gatchalian said the social welfare department is open to amending the Expanded Lifeline Rate Law if the subsidy is being passed on to consumers.
“We agree with the proposal, it’s just a small amount, and it should be absorbed by Meralco,” he said.
He added that if he is called to the Senate to revisit the bill, he would support proposals to stop charging consumers for lifeline rates.
In March, Meralco said it raised rates by P0.5335 per kilowatt hour. Then for the April billing, Meralco raised rates again by P0.5335 per kWh, bringing the rate to P14.3496 per kWh. The power distributor attributed these hikes to higher transmission charges, especially incurred by the National Grid Corp. and to a weakened peso against the US dollar, affecting costs of power supply contracts.
Electricity VAT exemption sought
Amid the debate on electric charges burdening consumers, Sen. Risa Hontiveros filed Senate Bill 2093, or the proposed Kuryente Relief Act, which seeks to remove value-added tax from the monthly bills of households consuming 150 kilowatt-hours or less.
Hontiveros said the exemption could save consumers around P250 to P300 per month, especially low- to lower-middle-income households struggling with higher power costs.
“Ngayon sumisipa sa taas ang singil ng kuryente, pati middle income families ay nahihirapan na sa bayad sa kuryente,” Hontiveros said. (Now that electricity charges are rising sharply, even middle-income families are struggling to pay their power bills.)
She said existing mechanisms like the lifeline rate provide only “limited relief” because they are often confined to the most marginalized consumers.
