CEGP: Power hike an added encumbrance to Filipino people

PROGRESSIVE groups led by Kilusang Mayo Uno trooped in front of the Meralco Business Center in España, Manila to slam the looming power rate hike and to call for the junking of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act Law.

“EPIRA only privatized the country’s power industry. It failed its supposed goal of lessening electricity cost, especially among millions of poor Filipinos,” said Jose Mari Callueng, National President of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines

Meralco recently announced that it will increase its rate this month as the Energy Regulatory Commission approved their petition to increase its Feed-In-Tariff Allowance (FIT-ALL) to 25.63 centavos while energy reserves of the Luzon grid decline.

“Prices of basic commodities and services are soaring because of Duterte’s tormentous tax reform law. A centavo increase in power rates will only cause more anguish and scourge especially that workers across the country suffer from extremely low wages,” Callueng said.

“Duterte along with his economic managers are to blame for the worsening conditions of the Filipino people. They continue to push for anti-poor and anti-people policies while waging wars of suppression against the Filipino people,” he added.

The Guild is one with the Filipino people in intensifying their resistance against Duterte who only heeds to the demands of oligarchs and capitalists while letting his own people die in hunger and in his own hands. We are calling on the Filipino youth to launch bigger mobilizations to protest against the deleterious and murderous anti-people policies Duterte has been waging against the Filipino people.