Lakas-CMD files bill to give minimum wage earners 50% electricity discount

A bill was filed by the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), led by its president, Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, seeking to grant qualified minimum wage earner households a uniform 50 percent discount on applicable electricity charges for their principal residence, while also providing automatic lifeline enrollment for marginalized and vulnerable consumers.

The so-called Ginhawa Kit under House Bill (HB) 8191, or the Kuryente–Internet–Trabaho agenda, aims to ease the burden of rising household expenses on working families.

It was crafted as a direct response to increasing electricity bills that continue to strain households, particularly those earning minimum wage, who struggle to stretch their income amid rising costs of living.

“Lakas-CMD has resolved to put this electricity relief into legislation. When a minimum wage earner works every day and still comes up short at the end of the month, we have a duty to deliver concrete relief—and one of the most direct ways is to cut power costs at home,” Romualdez said.

Deputy Speaker David “Jay-Jay” Suarez of Quezon and Deputy Speaker Jay Khonghun of Zambales personally filed HB 8191 on behalf of Lakas-CMD.

Under the proposed “Ginhawa sa Kuryente Act,” Suarez said the 50 percent discount is “designed for households with at least one minimum wage earner, applied to a single residential service account corresponding to the household’s principal residence, subject to verification, anti-leakage safeguards and periodic revalidation to keep the benefit targeted and credible.”

Khonghun said, “members of Lakas-CMD stressed that this is the kind of relief families can feel right away because electricity is a basic need tied to health, education, safety and livelihood, and a power bill that keeps climbing forces families to make sacrifices on food, transport, school requirements and medicine.”

Alongside the minimum wage earner discount, Romualdez explained that the bill also strengthens the lifeline rate for marginalized end-users “by requiring distribution utilities to apply the lifeline benefit automatically to qualified households through secure eligibility matching and account tagging, removing the old burden where the less fortunate families often had to navigate paperwork just to get help they already qualified for.”

For qualified marginalized end-users whose monthly consumption does not exceed 50 kilowatt-hours (kWh), Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V of La Union said, “the measure provides that the lifeline rate will include a 100% discount on applicable electricity charges, with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) setting the detailed parameters, a provision the authors described as a practical protection for households that already live on the edge.”

Meanwhile, Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, chairperson of the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms, argued that “automatic enrollment matters because many intended beneficiaries fall through the cracks when the system relies on manual, beneficiary-initiated registration, a setup that tends to exclude families in remote areas or those without time, documents or access to utility offices.”

Deputy Speaker Janette L. Garin of Iloilo said Lakas-CMD described the measure as “a core component of the party’s GINHAWA KIT legislative package, which focuses on easing the cost of living through measures addressing electricity costs, internet access, and employment opportunities.”

She said the kuryente component is designed to deliver the fastest and most tangible relief at the household level.

Lakas-CMD said the bill also aims to make the system fairer for renters, shared connections, and households whose service accounts may not be registered under their name, with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) directed to craft rules that prevent exclusion and establish a clear, accessible grievance and correction mechanism.

The co-authors of the measure are Reps. Jose Manuel Alba, Jose II “Joboy” Aquino, Munir Arbison, Ma. Rachel Arenas, Dean Asistio, Maria Vanessa Aumentado, Yasser Alonto Balindong, Julienne “Jam” Baronda, John Tracy Cagas, Antonino Calixto, Jane Castro, Joel Chua, Dale Corvera, Agay Cruz, Edwin Cruzado, Janice Degamo, Sittie Aminah Dimaporo, Ernesto Dionisio Jr., Gerardo “Gerryboy” Espina Jr.,

Gerald Clyod Alexis Galang, Edsel Galeos, Dante Garcia, Janette Garin, Alyssa Michaela “Mica” Gonzales, Kathy Gorriceta, Wilton “Tonton” Kho, Ai Labadlabad, Daphne Lagon, Joseph “Jojo” Lara, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Bai Dimple Mastura, Lalo Matugas, Eric Olivarez, Francisco Paolo Ortega, Emmarie “Lolypop” Ouano-Dizon, Arnan Panaligan, Rosemarie Panotes, Emerson Pascual, Salvador Pleyto, Marlyn Primicias-Agabas, Eduardo Rama, Tony Roman,

Jurdin Jesus Romualdo, Ma. Isabel “Maisa” Sagarbarria, Ruth Sakaluran, Adrian Salceda, Reynaldo Salvacion, Ma. Alana Samantha Santos, Steve Chiongbian Solon, Lordan Suan, Joseph Tan, Irwin Tieng, Dibu Tuan, Binky Tupas, Kristine Alexie Tutor, De Carlo “Oyo” Uy, Roberto “Pinpin” Uy Jr., Baby Aline Vargas-Alfonso, Patrick Michael Vargas, Christopherson Yap, Eric Go Yap, Joseph Kim Yu, Emilio Bernardino Yulo, JB Bernos, Nelson Dayanghirang Jr., and Jonathan Keith Flores.

To protect the program from abuse, the measure includes several safeguards, such as a one-household, one-account rule, limitations to a household’s principal residence, and verification standards designed to be simple yet auditable.

The bill also provides for time-bound eligibility with periodic revalidation, as well as penalties for fraud or misrepresentation.

The measure likewise proposes the creation of an inter-agency monitoring and oversight committee led by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and the Department of Energy (DOE) serving as co-chairpersons.

The panel will monitor implementation, track eligibility matching rates, identify exclusion errors and leakage risks, and ensure compliance by service providers, while keeping data sharing aligned with the Data Privacy Act.