Public urged to join Feb. 17 blackout protest

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—A labor group on Tuesday called on the public to participate in a blackout protest on February 17 to register a strong opposition to the power rate increase being pushed by the Manila Electric Company (Meralco).

“We are calling on all power consumers to turn off their lights on Feb. 17 from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and to hold various protests against the power rate hike on that day,” said Elmer “Bong” Labog, Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) chairperson.

He said the public should force the high tribunal to heed the consumers’ demands and not those of the power firms and the Aquino administration.

The blackout protest will be held  a week before the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the high court against power rate hike expires on Feb. 23.

Labog said the blackout protest would aim to draw the participation of the most number of power consumers because there is a need to step up protests against the power rate increase amid Meralco’s threat of continuous blackouts if the TRO is not lifted.

He urged  small Filipino businessmen to speak up against the proposed power rate adjustment citing the Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines’ statement that power accounts for 20 to 30 per cent of many companies’ production costs.

“We urge small Filipino businessmen to speak up against this power rate hike which imperils their businesses. We have always asserted that power costs – together with trade liberalization, smuggling, and exorbitant taxes and kickbacks – have made it difficult for them to do business in the country,” he added.

He belittled Malacañang’s expression of opposition to the power rate hike, saying it continues to uphold the Electric Power Industry Reform Act  (Epira) of 2001.

“It seems that criticisms directed at the power rate hike are too much to take for Malacañang. It is clear, however, that the Aquino government is opposing the rate hike only because it does not agree with the excuse being invoked by the power firms. It continues to uphold Epira and seems ready to agree to a power rate hike if the latter is pushed using a different excuse,” he said.

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