The Marcos Jr. administration fell short of its planned ₱31-billion borrowing on Monday, May 4, as demand dropped significantly for short-dated debt papers amid rising interest rates following the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) policy hike. The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) raised only ₱28.1...
Senator Risa Hontiveros has filed a bill that seeks to remove the value-added tax (VAT) on systems loss charges. Hontiveros noted that the VAT on systems loss charges are currently being passed on to electricity consumers’ monthly bills—a “double burden” on top of the “already absurd”...
Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon has called out the Peanut Gallery Media Network (PGMN) over possible fake news and disinformation on the issue of the alleged bloated electricity bills at a time of great economic hardship for many Filipinos. "Rising electricity costs is a real concern which...
Malacañang said Congress should revisit the country’s lifeline rate system to ensure a fair and balanced distribution of electricity subsidies, amid growing concerns from consumers over rising power bills. Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro said this as Meralco...
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,...
Ranking House of Representatives members are up in arms over the glut of pass-through charges on electricity bills that consumers have to pay. Such charges include the Senior Citizen Discount, Lifeline Rate discount for 4Ps beneficiaries, Feed-in Tariff Allowance, and Green Energy Auction Allowance...
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 ...
Demand for government securities (GS) continued to attract investors during the latest treasury bills (T-bills) auction, allowing the Marcos Jr. administration to exceed its planned ₱33 billion in short-term debt papers, as borrowing costs across all tenors declined further, partly due to the...
While fuel prices are expected to drop next week, Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) consumers will face higher electricity rates this month. Effective April, Meralco will see a ₱0.5335-per-kilowatt-hour (kWh) increase in its power rates, from ₱13.8161/kWh to ₱14.3496/kWh. For households consuming...
Demand for government securities (GS) improved at the start of the second quarter, but the Marcos Jr. administration still struggled to raise its planned ₱27 billion in short-term debt papers, as overall interest costs remained elevated amid anticipation of a policy hike in April. During the...
While there is no specific provision calling for immediate economic relief for the middle class families is stated in the report, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said the suspension of the excise tax, as well as the possibility of suspending the value added tax (VAT) may benefit all households. Gatchalian...
LEGAZPI CITY, Albay – More than 44,000 Albay Electric Cooperative customers here are set to receive a one-time subsidy of P300, Mayor Hisham Ismail said on Friday, March 27. Ismail said the financial assistance for residential meter holders is part of the city government’s initiative to cushion...
