Senator Ralph Recto. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – The temporary restraining order (TRO) issued against the power rate increase of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) should be expanded to cover other electric cooperatives and distribution utilities, Senate Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto said on Thursday.
“Metro Manila residents welcome with a sigh of relief the Supreme Court TRO on the Meralco increase in power rates. But why single out Meralco? Hindi naman ito lang ang nagtaas ng singil na kuryente. Coops across Luzon also did,” Recto said in a statement.
“So if temporary reprieve was given to Meralco customers, the same must be granted to customers of other distribution utilities (DUs) similarly situated,” he said.
Recto said many coops and DUs bought the power at a price “deemed outrageous” and like Meralco, they also passed this on to their customers.
“In short, they drew water from the same well but it is only Meralco which is being restrained from recovering the cost,” he said.
Cooperatives in Luzon, he said, purchased power from the same small group of generators apparently for the same price that Meralco did.
“If that is the case, can the judicial protection granted to Meralco customers be extended to consumers in other service areas as well?” the senator asked.
“Kung sakop ng TRO ang mga may kaya sa Forbes Park, bakit di saklaw ang mga mahihirap sa mga liblib na lugar? Di hamak naman mas mayaman ang NCR(National Capital Region) kesa sa ibang rehiyon, ayon na mismo sa datos ng gobyerno.”
While Meralco is the biggest in terms of customer base, its franchise area does not cover the whole of Luzon, Recto said.
Meralco’s franchise area, he said, covers only 40% of Luzon or 5.189 million customers.
“By legislative edict, Meralco’s franchise area stops at Tayabas City, Quezon in the South, and Candaba, Pampanga in the North. Big provinces like Batangas, Pampanga, and Pangasinan are outside its coverage which make their residents outside the scope of the Supreme Court TRO, too,” he pointed out.
“There must be one rule for the whole grid. There must be equal relief for all,” he added.
But the senator said he would leave it to the lawyers, especially government lawyers, to recommend ways on how to expand the TRO to cooperatives and DUs, which he said increased their rates based on the same circumstances present in the case of Meralco.
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