Consumer groups are strongly pushing back against the one-year state of national calamity proclamation issued by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. by demanding a moratorium on utility rate increases during the period.
Skeptics said the declaration was meant to open public finances to another wave of manipulation.
A budget watchdog shared with Nosy Tarsee that during a state of calamity, there’s no more bidding for consultants, contractors, and suppliers.
A one-year state of calamity becomes a bonanza for corruption.
When there’s no bidding, funds are easily misused, prompting the suggestion to use blockchain and AI to monitor fund allocations and project implementations, thereby making corruption permanently traceable.
Consumer rights groups, for starters, called on the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to impose a moratorium on electricity price hikes while the country is in a state of national calamity.
The ERC issued an order directing all distribution utilities to suspend service disconnections in November and December, so the ERC should also have the power to halt the rise in electricity costs nationwide, in line with the spirit of the state of calamity declaration.
A consumer advocacy group noted that the state of national calamity requires all agencies to “meet the basic subsistence needs of the people affected” by the recent typhoons.
The ERC’s directive to provide staggered payment schemes only to households consuming up to 100 kilowatt-hours reveals an alarming disconnect with reality, as the average household consumes 200 kilowatt-hours or more every month.
As the Christmas season approaches, the government should mirror the spirit of the season in its policies and decisions.
The decision to declare a full-year state of emergency must be complemented by measures to alleviate the plight of those affected by the killer typhoons.