Kabataan party-list has expressed alarm and grave concern over President Rodrigo Duterte’s statement that he would “make radical changes in the days to come.”
Joma says NDFP will follow stand down agreement if signed
Jose Maria Sison said the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) will follow the terms of their prospective stand down agreement with Government of the Republic of Philippines (GRP) should both parties push through with its declaration on June 14. Sison was reacting to the Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana’s statement […]
Groups wary over Meralco’s announced lower power rates this month
Artificial and superficial.
This was the reaction of militant labor group KMU (Kilusang Mayo Uno) Metro Manila to the announcement of Meralco (Manila Electric Company) on Thursday that power consumers will enjoy lower electricity rates on their billing this month of June.
Members of KMU Metro Manila, Defend Job Philippines, and other consumer groups stormed the Meralco Business Center in Manila today to hold a ‘Black Friday Protest’. Today is the 17th anniversary of the EPIRA (Electric Power Industry Reform Act) Law. Protesters called for the immediate junking of EPIRA Law as they pointed out that the law did not realized its objective to lessen electricity cost in the country.
The groups decried that a single centavo increase of Meralco on its power charges will be unacceptable and unjust. Poor Filipino workers and families have been carrying on the vast impacts of low wages and high prices of basic commodities and services due to President Duterte’s Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.
By the end of May, Meralco told its consumers to brace for higher electricity rates in June as the ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission) approved the electric company’s petition to increase its Feed-In-Tariff Allowance (FIT-ALL) to 25.63 centavos and as energy reserves of the Luzon grid declines.
“Amid high prices of primary goods, products and services due to the TRAIN Law and other anti-poor policies of the present government, another burden caused by any power rate hikes would be President Duterte’s kiss of death against our already burdened workers and people,” said KMU Metro Manila chairperson Ed Cubelo.
‘Sweetheart Deals’
KMU Metro Manila casted doubts to the statement of Meralco, and said that this is only Meralco’s move to pacify the mounting protest of poor Filipino workers and consumers to the company’s looming higher electricity rates up to P5.22/kWh once the ERC approves the seven power supply arrangements (PSAs) deals, which the group sees “questionable” and called it “cross-ownership sweetheart deals,” as it is said to be Meralco’s own sister companies, subsidiaries and affiliates.
Two weeks ago, Bayan Muna Partylist Representative Carlos Zarate exposed seven PSA deals of Meralco with the following generation companies for the construction of coal-fired power plants including: Redondo Peninsula Energy Incorporated (225-megawatt [MW]); Atimonan One Energy Incorporated (1,200 MW); St. Raphael power Generation Corporation (400 MW); Central Luzon Premiere Power Corporation (528 MW); Mariveles Power Generation Corporation (528 MW); Panay Energy Development Corporation (70 MW); and Global Luzon Energy Development Corporation (600 MW).
Zarate said that high prices of coal and the sharp depreciation of the peso against the dollar will be factors for Meralco customers to carry the burden of a P5.22/kWh increase from these contracts. He added that only P3.67/kWh would be the supposed average cost of the electricity generation. Zarate sees a P1.55/kWh overprice which he said would cost millions of Meralco consumers P54.54B in additional charges yearly.
Cubelo insisted, “We urge President Duterte to immediately investigate Meralco’s 7 PSA deals and order the ERC to immediately decline Meralco’s petition. Duterte must not allow its government be a an accessory of Meralco’s greed for profit and as rubberstamp to deceive and pass on additional burden to Filipino consumers.”
NEDA’s P10K computation slammed
During the protest rally today, Defend Job Philippines released a comparative data showing the P10,000 computation of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) and the average actual monthly budget of poor Filipino families with 5 members. The group said that the study was conducted “to counter NEDA’s delusional, insulting and implausible remarks.”
The comparative data were as follow:
“Data shows that poorest households in Metro Manila will not survive to what NEDA believes to be a livable monthly budget just to create an illusion that the Duterte government’s TRAIN Law has no significant effect to the lives of ordinary Filipinos,” Ser Christian Yamzon, executive director of Defend Job Philippines said.
The post Groups wary over Meralco’s announced lower power rates this month appeared first on Manila Today.
Alarm raised over Duterte’s “radical changes”
Various groups have expressed alarm over the recent pronouncement of President Rodrigo Duterte to implement “radical changes”.
ALAB Analysis: Buhay at Paglilingkod ni Sr. Pat
Paglingkod sa mahihirap, ganito isinasabuhay ni Sister Patricia Fox ang turo ng Simbahan. Kilalanin ang Australian missionary na ipina-dedeport ng pamahalaan sa panayam ni Inday Espina-Varona.
The post ALAB Analysis: Buhay at Paglilingkod ni Sr. Pat appeared first on Altermidya.
Time for govt to come up with realistic poverty threshold – IBON
Research group IBON said that it is about time for government to update its poverty threshold to reflect a more realistic poverty reduction target. This is in light of National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Ernesto Pernia’s recent statement that Php42,000 a month is “a decent income at least to live above the poverty line”. Nine out of 10 Filipino families however fall below Secretary Pernia’s figure, IBON said.
The latest Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) reports about 20 million or 88% of Filipino families with incomes less than Php42,000. This is for all family sizes, but, in any case, the country’s average household size is 4.4 persons.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) currently pegs the poverty threshold at Php9,063.75 a month for a family of five, or Php60.43 per day per person. This is absurdly low and grossly underestimates the number of income poor in the country, IBON said. NEDA’s statement only gives some officiality to this observation, the group added.
However, Secretary Pernia was quick to add that he is not endorsing a legislated minimum wage at the level he quoted as decent income. IBON said that computing a higher poverty threshold will give a more realistic picture of poverty in the country. This should be the basis of a more appropriate action to improve the living standards of the majority of Filipinos. Raising wages and an economic thrust that creates more meaningful jobs are one of the steps towards this, IBON concluded.
Groups denounce yet another media killing, 11th under Duterte
Media groups denounced the murder of yet another journalist Thursday afternoon, the 11th victim of media killing under Rodrigo Duterte’s government. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), the NUJP Davao Chapter, and the Davao del Norte Press and Radio-TV Club (DNPRC) denounced the killing of Dennis Denora, publisher of the community newspaper […]
Gabriela laments killing of pregnant Ombud exec, slams ‘worsening’ impunity under Duterte’s watch
In a broad daylight, a young man, out of nowhere suddenly appeared and knifed to death a pregnant mother.