The summer season is upon us. During summer, electricity use by all types of consumers spike as aircons, refrigerators, and electric fans are used longer and work harder. This is the time when all consumers should be watchful about prices and consumption behavior. What is the Grid Operating...
March 15 is World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD). The consumer movement, Consumers International, first marked that date in 1983. Celebrating the day is an opportunity to reiterate the demand that the rights of all consumers must be respected and protected, and to protest against market abuses and...
In my December 12, 2020 column, I wrote on the ASEAN Peer review of Philippine consumer policy and law. Recently, the Philippines held the debriefing on the draft country assessment report for the ASEAN Peer Review on Consumer Protection in the Philippines. The Philippines is the first ASEAN...
January and February saw the country gearing up in preparation for the return to normal life with the arrival of the Covid 19 vaccines. I believe it is our responsibility to ensure the welfare of our fellow consumers as we continue to endure through the pandemic and its impact on our...
It appears that the Department of Energy (DOE) with its heavy-handed demand that the “no disconnection” policy be extended for lifeline users, is using its considerable weight arbitrarily, and the electric cooperatives and other distribution utilities and their customers are the...
The Consumer Act of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 7394 of 1992) is being revised to address the prevalence of prohibited activities affecting consumer protection and align it with developments in technology in electronic commerce.The House Committee on Trade and Industry led by Chairperson...
As mentioned in my previous column, January 30, 2021, this will be a narrative into the legal points raised and red flags surrounding the Feed-In-tariff or FIT. First, the issuance of the Questioned Resolution, i.e. the increased FIT retroactive to five (5) years, from 2016 -2020, should be...
Consumers should be able to look forward to a refund as well cheaper cost of electricity from renewable energy resources. I have put on notice the renewable energy developers, members of the Developers for Renewable Energy Advancement (DREAM) and the Wind Energy Developers Association of the...
Last week, I participated as a resource person in the House of Representatives Committee on Energy’s initial deliberation on various bills concerning the Oil Deregulation Law. House Bill No. 4711 caught my attention because it proposed to repeal Republic Act Number 8749, the Oil Deregulation...
Over the past three years, there were three domestic industries that sought protection under an old law, Republic Act No. 8800 or the Safeguard Measures Act. The primary objective of that law is to save the economic viability of a domestic industry as well as save local jobs. The process s...
Consumer advocacy group Laban Konsyumer Inc. (LKI) warned against higher inflation this month considering the unabated increases in prices of basic necessities especially agricultural and marine products to the detriment of consumers....
