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| Photo from GMANews |
The power rate
hike has already eaten one day of the ₱60 wage hike that is yet to be received by
minimum wage earners in NCR.
According to
Partido Manggagawa (PM), at least ₱74.8 million, from the 1.1 million minimum
wage earners in NCR who should receive a ₱60 wage hike this July, will only go
to power plant owners because of the ₱0.34/kwh rate hike announced by Meralco.
This is just a
preview of the next electricity price increases because Meralco's petition for
its own distribution, supply, and metering (DSM) charge adjustment worth
₱0.99/kWh is also pending at the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) under the
first regulatory period of 2027-2031, which the ERC is said to be able to
decide this 3rd Quarter.
“The wage hike
is gradual but the rate power rates hike is consecutive,” angrily stated Judy
Miranda, Secretary General of PM.
According to
Miranda, if combined, the average electricity price increase since March is
more than ₱1.00/kWh.
According to
the PM, 1.1 million minimum wage earners lost ₱74.8 million because the
equivalent of ₱0.34/kWh for a typical household's consumption of 200 kWh in a
month is ₱68.
“This means
that one day of minimum wage has already been lost in the new wage hike for
minimum wage earners in the NCR. This is life in an Upper Middle-Income
Country, power hikes are faster than wage hikes,” Miranda said.
PM also fears
that these power rate hikes will be followed by another round and will have a
domino effect on other products due to the country's vulnerability to price
shocks as it is dependent on imported fossil fuels such as oil, coal and LNG
which are used in power plants and transportation because the transition to
renewable energy is also very slow.
Added to this
is the failure of EPIRA and privatization as a policy that made the market more
powerful than government control over essential services like electricity.
“UMIC status should be the result of reform, not just a mathematical calculation of wealth that is largely in the hands of capitalists, such as the owners of power firms,” Miranda concluded.
PRESS RELEASE
Partido Manggagawa
11 July 2026
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