Gov’t utilities bill may reach P100B

House Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto (File photo from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)

MANILA, Philippines — Energy conservation measures should be enforced in government offices before the summer sets in as expenses for utilities and energy may reach P100 billion a year.

House Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto made the call amid recommendations made by economic managers in a bid to conserve energy with the rising cost of power in the world market.

Recto said there should be a comprehensive national framework for energy conservation that should be “framed as saving money and saving the Earth at the same time.”

“For the people to support it, economics and environment should be the driving force behind the campaign,” he said on Wednesday.

The lawmaker added: “It should be comprehensive. A national framework of which a four-day workweek is but one component.”

Earlier, economic managers gave several recommendations to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on conserving energy in government offices.

The suggestions included adopting work hours from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and a work-from-home setup on Fridays, and limiting air conditioning temperature to 25 degrees Celsius.

This is part of an energy conservation plan with a focus on the demand side, according to Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno.

Past measures

The government has implemented similar measures in the past during the Gulf War in the 1990s and in 2008 when prices of fuel products went up.

Recto noted that in 2019, or before the COVID-19 pandemic, the government racked up P43.2 billion in bills for power, water and gas. This is aside from the P47.5 billion it paid for fuel, oil, and lubricant expenses that year.

“That’s about P90.7 billion in a year. Even if you save just 10 percent or P9 billion, that can be channeled to buy medicines for hospitals. If we don’t try to save, that will hit P100 billion a year,” he said.

Recto said energy conservation measures should be in place before the summer sets in, but it should be properly defined by an executive issuance so as not to affect essential services.

“You don’t cut back on police and military patrols. Maybe the system allowing private vehicles to use gas coupons can be stopped, but ambulance runs should be exempt, as well as hospitals,” he said.