PRESS RELEASE
12 OCTOBER 2012
URBAN POOR MILITANTS SLAM ANTI-POOR IMPOSITION
OKAYED BY THE ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISION
Some fifty members of the militant urban poor federation, Kongreso ng Pagkakaisa ng Maralita ng Lunsod-National Capital Region and Rizal chapter (KPML-NCRR) marched to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to demand the scrapping of the bill deposit charge upgrade. They picketed the ERC office in the Ortigas Center in Pasig City to express their disgust for the ERC's approval of the bill deposit charge upgrade to be implemented by MERALCO this month.
The KPML-NCRR Vice-President, Glenn Mendina said, "Is it not enough for them that the Philippines has the most expensive electricity charges in Asia? Now, they want to impose an additional burden to all MERALCO household clients". The poor are already burdened with staggering price increases of the basic commodities and has not stabilized since the storm surge last August.
The deposit has no other use but to serve as a security deterrent against those who are not able to pay their electric bills on a regular basis, clearly, an anti-poor imposition. Because the deposit will only applied to residential consumers and not industrial and commercial clients.
"The deposit will also serve as a additional capital to the electric distribution monopoly in Metro Manila. If the MERALCO has approximately more than four million household consumers and if every household consumes a monthly average of a thousand pesos, it would equate to more than four billion pesos in additional capital to the electricity cartel" the urban poor leader concluded.
The militants vowed to continue their protest actions till the ERC disallows the bill deposit charge of the MERALCO.
For more details, please contact Glenn Mendina- 0939-8149517
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