The Gabriela Women's Party and other groups of women woke Manila Electric Company (Meralco) in Quezon City on Thursday morning to denounce the rising electricity bills of its consumers.
JUST IN: @GabrielaWomenPL, sumugod sa sangay ng @meralco sa Quezon City; mahal na singil sa kuryente, inalmahan | @dzrh5 Val Gonzales, DZRH News#SamaSamaTayoPilipino pic.twitter.com/ccITDf9OIu
— DZRH NEWS (@dzrhnews) May 17, 2024
This move was made following the electricity rate that hiked by 46.21 centavos to P11.4139 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in May from P10.9518 per kWh in March.
According to Gabriela's representative Arlene Brosas, the government should nationalize the talks regarding the oil industry and look after lowering the electricity bill.
Brosas said that the first affected people are women.
"Asikasuhin po ang pagbaba ng bill ng kuryente dahil ang unang unang apekatado dito ay ang mga nanay!" Brosas said during the protest.
The group also urged the government to scrap Republic Act No. 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001, which sought to restructure the electric power industry by privatizing the generation, transmission, distribution, and supply of the power sector.
Meralco earlier said the higher rates were due to the increase in generation charges, which climbed by 44.55 centavos per kWh, on the back of higher costs from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) and Power Supply Agreements (PSAs).
