True to his word, Navotas City lone Rep. Toby Tiangco refiled his long-standing measure seeking to remove systems loss charges from consumers' monthly electricity bills.

This was his direct response to President Marcos' fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA), which he delivered before a joint session of Congress last Monday, July 27.

The measure--initially filed 16 years ago--was designated in the current 20th Congress as House Bill (HB) No. 10273, or the "System Loss Charges Abolition Act of 2026".

It was meant to support the Marcos administration's objective of making electricity more affordable for every Filipino.

Tiangco echoed the President’s SONA message that electricity consumers should not shoulder the costs arising from inefficiencies and losses beyond their control.

"Natutuwa ako na ang panukalang ito ay malinaw nang bahagi ng legislative agenda ng Pangulo. Matagal na nating sinasabi na hindi makatarungan na ang ordinaryong konsyumer ang pinagbabayad sa mga nananakaw ng kuryente at inefficiencies na wala naman silang kinalaman,” Tiangco said.

(I am glad that this proposal is now clearly part of the President’s legislative agenda. We have long said that it is unjust for ordinary consumers to be made to pay for stolen electricity and inefficiencies they have nothing to do with.)

In the bill's explanatory note, Tiangco emphasized that while previous laws allowed utilities to recover system losses within prescribed limits, the continued rise in electricity prices has shown that the system has failed to adequately protect consumers.

The measure was first filed on Sept. 20, 2010 as HB No. 3253 and was refiled on July 1, 2013 as HB No. 709 and on July 4, 2016 as HB No. 942.

With President Marcos now backing the proposal, Tiangco expressed hope that the measure will finally gain enough support in Congress to become law.

"Magmula taong 2010, hindi ito umusad. Ngayon, malinaw na kinikilala na mismo ng Pangulo na dapat nang itigil ang pagpapasa ng systems loss sa mga konsyumer. Umaasa ako na sa Kongresong ito ay magkakaroon na tayo ng sapat na political will upang maisabatas ang repormang ito,” he said.

(Since 2010, this has not moved forward. Now, it is clear that the President himself recognizes that passing system loss charges to consumers must stop. I hope that in this Congress we will finally have enough political will to enact this reform.)

The veteran solon said that with electricity prices remaining among the highest in the region, Congress should seize the opportunity to institutionalize reforms that provide immediate and tangible relief to consumers.

"Kung seryoso tayo sa pagpapababa ng singil sa kuryente, dapat alisin ang mga bayaring hindi naman kasalanan ng mamamayan. Ito ay konkretong hakbang na mararamdaman agad ng bawat pamilyang Pilipino sa kanilang buwanang bayarin."

(If we are serious about lowering electricity rates, we must remove charges that are not the fault of the people. This is a concrete step that every Filipino family will immediately feel in their monthly bills.)

Tiangco called on his fellow lawmakers to support what he described as a long-overdue consumer protection measure that now has the President's backing.