Shape up and be more pro-people.
This, in a nutshell, was House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano's advice to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Wednesday afternoon even as the regulatory body admitted to being swamped by consumer complaints in connection with runaway electric bills during the lockdown period.
"I'd like to ask ERC and I'd like to ask the other agencies here, sundan niyo ang ating Pangulo, ang ating Commander-in-chief, ang ating Chief Executive (follow the example of our President, our Commander-in-chief, our Chief Executive). Be more progressive in interpreting the law....we have to interpret this in favor of the public," Cayetano said in his manifestation during the Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability's inquiry on the exorbitant bills.
Cayetano hinted that he hasn't been too pleased with ERC's leanings as of late especially when it comes to dealing with certain companies that fall under its regulatory power.
"I've been watching you even sa iba naming hearing...Pakireview lang yung nagiging stand niyo. Kasi maraming kompanya ang may utang sa gobyerno o kaya may mga pwedeng gawin para maibsan ang pangangailangan ng tao, yet parang kinakampihan ng ERC parati yung power producers at yung may ari ng kompanya. (I've been watching you even in our other hearings...Please review your current stance. There are a lot of companies that either have liabilities to the government or can enforce measures to ease the people's burden, and yet the ERC chooses to side with the power producers or the owner of the company)," he said.
"I'm not saying you're not doing your job. Let me make this clear, walang kaibahan ito sa ABS-CBN. Just because legal ang ginagawa mo, that doesn't mean you're not abusing the system. (This is no different from ABS-CBN. Just because what you're doing is legal, that doesn't mean you're not abusing the system)," Cayetano reminded ERC.
"I would like to advise all our government agencies, BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue). Huwag niyong sabihin lang na legal, tama. Pag-aralan niyo nang mabuti at sabihin niyo kung may mali. (Don't say it's right just because it's legal. Study it carefully then tell us if it's wrong)," the Taguig-Pateros solon further said.
He cited as an example the time last year when President Duterte engaged water concessionaires over their alleged onerous contracts with the government. Duterte, who is a lawyer like Cayetano, had likened these agreements to acts of economic sabotage and economic plunder.
"If ABS-CBN was a purely private company and using private resources, . Pero yung airwaves is owned by the government. So in the same manner, itong kuryente, may public interest to, public utility din to. The same thing sa water; kung hindi pa dumating si President Duterte, baka magbayad pa ang gobyerno doon sa talo natin sa arbitration, ilang bilyon yun. (The airwaves is owned by the government. So in the same manner, electricity is imbued with public interest, it's also a public utility. The same thing with water; had President Duterte not been around, the government probably had to pay for our billions of losses in the arbitration case)," Cayetano recalled.
After earning Duterte's ire, Maynilad and Manila Water chose not to collect last year the P10.8 billion in compensation that a Singapore-based arbitration court had ordered the Philippine government to pay the water firms.
Cayetano called on the agencies to "reset" everything wrong in government while Duterte remains at the helm.
50,000 complaints lodged
ERC Executive Director Floresinda Baldo-Digal bared during her presentation Wednesday that they are currently handling 50,000 complaints from consumers, the majority of which have to do with the electric bill shocks.
"We commit to finish it...we now have 70 people working solely on it," she told the panel members, who were shocked by the figure.
Baldo-Digal, in her interpellation by Deputy Speaker and SAGIP Party-List Rep. Rodante Marcoleta, admitted that the deluge of complaints they've received was unsually high.
Asked about other courses of action that ERC has taken to address the complaints, the lady official said: "Hinhintay namin and sagot ng mga DUs (distribution utilities) sa complaints ng kanilang consumers (We await the answer of the DUs regarding the complaints of their consumers)."
She said that a least 12 DU might have violated the ERC's advisories pertaining to the power situation during the lockdown.