Declaring that electricity should be treated as a public service and not merely a business, Manila 6th District Representative Benny Abante pushed for urgent amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), warning that millions of Filipinos are being crushed by rising electricity costs and recurring “bill shock.”
In a privilege speech delivered before the House of Representatives, Abante said the growing burden of electricity bills has become a monthly source of fear and anxiety for ordinary Filipino families already struggling with the rising cost of living.
“Sa totoo lang, Mr. Speaker, ang pagbubukas ng electric bill ngayon ay nakakatakot na, hindi mo alam kung ito ba ay pang-ilaw lang, o pang-dilim ng kinabukasan,” the veteran legislator said.
The seasoned lawmaker and pastor said the original promise of EPIRA—to lower costs through competition—has failed to materialize for many consumers, with power rates continuing to rise while a handful of companies dominate the industry.
“The ghost of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001 continues to haunt us.”
“The ghost of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001 continues to haunt us. It promised competition, but it delivered a private oligopoly where seven companies control 50% of the capacity in Luzon,” he said.
Abante also challenged the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to fully exercise its mandate to protect consumers from abuse, anti-competitive behavior, and unreasonable charges.
“Ang Tanong ko Mr. Speaker, is the ERC pro-people? or pro-power? Does the ERC doing the mandate give to them? Are the protections strong enough? Are the guardrails tight enough?” he asked.
Among the reforms proposed by Abante were treating power generation as a public utility subject to stricter regulation, banning cross-ownership between distribution utilities and generation companies, removing “VAT on VAT” and system loss pass-through charges, granting emergency powers to the President during severe power crisis, and strictly enforcing the requirement for distribution utilities to supply electricity in the least-cost manner.
He particularly hit the practice of passing system losses on to consumers.
“Mr. Speaker, hindi makatarungan na pinapabayad natin sa mga consumer ang System Loss—ang kuryenteng nawala sa linya o ninakaw ng iba. Why should the consumer pay for the electricity that they did not use? Worse, we slap a 12% VAT on these losses. This is a tax on a tax on system-loss,” Abante said.
Quoting Scripture during his speech, he warned against exploiting the poor and called for justice and accountability in the power industry.
“In Proverbs 22:22 (KJV), the Word of God warns: ‘Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate.’”
“And in Psalm 101:7 (KJV): ‘He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.’”
“Huwag pagsamantalahan ang mahihirap. Huwag dayain ang taumbayan.”
Abante said the Bible’s message was clear: “Napakalinaw po: huwag pagsamantalahan ang mahihirap. Huwag dayain ang taumbayan.”
“Ang pagbibigay ng kuryente sa ating mga kababayan ay DAPAT gawing serbisyo, hindi negosyo,” he stressed.
Abante ended his speech with another biblical call for justice from Amos 5:24.
“But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” he said.
“Hangga’t hindi natin binabago ang istraktura ng ating power industry, ang ‘bill shock’ ay mananatiling legal na pagnanakaw sa bulsa ng ating mga kababayan,” Abante concluded.
