WASHINGTON (AP) — Bill Gates will appear Wednesday before a congressional panel investigating the Jeffrey Epstein files, becoming the latest powerful figure linked to the disgraced financier to testify. Members of the House Oversight Committee are slated to interview the billionaire Microsoft...
BAGUIO CITY – The Baguio City government backed the proposed House Bill No. 9603 or the Smoke-Free and Vape-Free Environment Bill filed by Albay first district Rep. Krisel Lagman, calling it a significant step towards strengthening public health protection nationwide. Mayor Benjamin Magalong said...
Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno has underscored the need for policymakers to assess whether or not the current allocation of pass-through costs remains fair to consumers. Diokno did so as he backed calls from labor and consumer groups to have Congress review the Manila Electric Company...
President Marcos wants the long-delayed Anti-Political Dynasty Bill passed during his administration, Malacañang said on Thursday, June 4, after the House of Representatives approved its version of the measure. Speaking at a Palace press briefing, Presidential Communications Office (PCO)...
A member of the House Committee on Energy is suggesting the use of fuel value-added tax (VAT) collections in a mechanism to partially subsidize electricity bill rebates. Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr. made this proposal amid the complaints on social media regarding the so-called...
BACOLOD CITY – The Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative (Noceco) admitted on Thursday that it erroneously charged a consumer in Hinigaran town P958,334.94 for electricity consumption in May, an error that went viral after the consumer posted her bill on Facebook, saying it gave her a...
Help is on the way. House Majority Leader Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos gave this assurance to Filipinos after the Ad Hoc Committee on Legislative Energy Action and Development (LEAD) approve on Tuesday, May 12 the consolidated KALINGA Bill. House Speaker Isabela 6th district Rep....
Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian defended beneficiaries of the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) amid criticism linking them to higher electricity bills charged by the Manila Electric Company (Meralco). Speaking in a television interview...
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has been asked to implement a staggered increase on electricity bills to prevent consumers suffer from “bill shock.” Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Proactive Response and Oversight for Timely and Effective Crisis Strategy (PROTECT) Committee,...
Malacañang said it will push for the passage of the United Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT) Bill, a measure concerning government savings and project funding. Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said the bill was part of the...
Senator Paolo “Bam” Aquino IV said on Tuesday, April 28 electricity subsidies and other mandated discounts should be funded through the national budget and not by consumers, particularly by low and middle-income households. Aquino, who has filed Senate Resolution No. 375, pointed ...
The American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (AmCham) warned that proposed legislation aimed at ending short-term labor contracts could inadvertently stifle foreign investment and weaken the country’s competitive standing in Southeast Asia. In a statement following a Senate Committee on...
