Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has filed a bill that seeks to abolish the collection of bill deposits by distribution utilities (DUs) and electric cooperatives (ECs) in a bid to alleviate the burden of residential power consumers reeling from high electricity rates. In filing Senate Bill No. 1470 or...
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) announced on Monday, Nov. 3, that it is slashing construction material costs and cracking down on overpricing and corruption in government projects, potentially saving up to ₱60-B in 2026. The move follows President Marcos ' directive for...
President Marcos has ordered several government agencies to significantly cut project costs for public infrastructure projects such as agricultural roads, hospitals, classrooms, and irrigation in an attempt to eradicate corruption. After instructing the Department of Public Works and Highways...
Filipino households can breathe a sigh of relief as Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) announced a reduction in electricity bills, providing a much-needed break from the consecutive price hikes of recent months.
In a briefing on Wednesday, Sept. 10, Joe Zaldarriaga, Meralco Vice President and Head of...
Power distributor Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) announced on Tuesday, Aug. 12, an increase in electricity rates this month, primarily due to higher pass-through charges and a weakened local currency. According to Meralco, the overall rate for a typical household is now ₱13.2703 per kilowatt per...
Senator Rodante Marcoleta has filed a bill seeking to exempt households that consume 135 kilowatt-hours (kWh) or less of electricity each month from paying electric bills. In filing the unnumbered bill, Marcoleta sought to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) to expand and improve...
Senator Rodante Marcoleta has filed a bill seeking to remove the 12 percent value-added tax (VAT) on the sale of electricity at all stages, in an effort to lower power rates and alleviate the financial burden on Filipino households and businesses. “The Philippines remains to be one of the...
House Speaker Martin Romualdez (Speaker’s office) The leadership of the House of Representatives is doubling down on its mission statement to help bring down the cost of food and electricity via its investigations at the tail end of the 19th...
A new cascade of financial pressure will be on consumers’ pockets this week as gasoline prices will be rising by P1.10 per liter; while diesel prices will go up by a marginal P0.20 per liter. Propitiously for kerosene products, there will be no cost movement this week, based on the pricing...
A new wave of financial pain could squeeze consumers’ pockets next week, as pump prices could be tracking new wave of increases – primarily for gasoline products, based on the initial calculation of the oil companies. As assessed by the industry players, the price of gasoline will likely rise...
The days of ‘secrecy’ in weekly oil price adjustments are numbered following the Supreme Court’s decision which upheld the fuel cost unbundling policy that the Department of Energy (DOE) initially attempted for implementation via a Circular in 2019. Relative to the high court ruling, former...
A young executive of Aboitiz Power Corporation has spilled the inconvenient truth that renewable energy (RE) developers have been distorting the ‘cheap electricity narrative’ because of their proclivity to downplay other cost components linked to the variability of their technologies –...
