Press Release - Senator Risa Hontiveros explanation of "No" vote on MERALCO franchise bill
Mr. President, "No" ang aking boto sa franchise renewal ng MERALCO.
MERALCO has throughout the years failed to abide by its obligations and serving consumers, as reflected by our excessively high electricity bills.
Before even considering a franchise renewal, my view is that MERALCO must be made to properly refund its customers for its past overcollections.
In recent days, MERALCO itself has, by volunteering to initiate refunds with the Energy Regulatory Commission, admitted that it has over-charged consumers. This overcollection needs to be addressed before any further steps are taken.
The amendments I proposed, which were all unfortunately rejected, were the bare minimum needed to guarantee fair and transparent operations, and would have ensured that the refunds are calculated well, transparent, and open to public scrutiny.
These amendments were also intended to reverse the long-term regulatory inaction and failures on the part of the ERC in its dealings with MERALCO. Hindi pwede na mauwi sa "move on" at limot ang mga pagkakamali at pagkukulang ng MERALCO. Tungkulin ng Senado na siguraduhin na hindi na muling malalamangan ang taumbayan.
Let me again enumerate the amendments that I sought, Mr. President:
Independent Financial Audit: The Commission on Audit (COA) needs to regularly audit MERALCO's financial records. Kailangan natin "ipa-COA" para i-tama ang mga singil nila at hanapin kung saan napupunta ang sobrang siningil. This audit must be comprehensive, looking at all financial statements, related party transactions, and the calculation of the Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR).
Publication of Rate Setting Rules: All rules used to calculate electricity rates must be made public, including any changes to these rules. The ERC and MERALCO must publish these rules and any decisions made about rates. Hindi pwede na itinatago nila ang mga patakaran at nagdedesisyon nang palihim. Dapat malinaw kung paano kinalkula ang mga bayarin sa kuryente. This transparency will allow the public to understand how our bills are determined, and will allow us to intervene.
Definition and Limitation of the Regulatory Asset Base (RAB): The assets included in MERALCO's rate