Enrile vows to lower cost of electricity

By Bernadette E. Tamayo – March 27, 2019
from The Manila Times

FORMER Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile has pledged to push for a law lowering electricity rates by amending the Energy Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) if he wins in the May election.

The 95-year-old made the promise during his campaign sortie in Batangas. He said that high electricity rates had an adverse effect on the prices of basic needs.

“First of all, it puts a burden on the people. Second, it puts a lot of burden on producers and businessmen, and it goes to the cost of food,” Enrile said.

“Energy is the lifeblood of our economy. Without it, nothing moves,” he said in an interview at the sidelines of his visit to Batangas City and Lipa City with Batangas Gov. Hermilando “Dodo” Mandanas.

“The moment the price of that element goes up, everything will go up. Energy affects power,
transportation, fertilizers, cost of production, and all sectors and industries,” Enrile added.

He cited Batangas as a critical “piece of the energy puzzle” due to the presence of gas-powered plants in the province that supply 60 percent of the electricity requirement of Metro Manila and a quarter of the electricity demand of Luzon.

Enrile noted that experts had predicted that in 2024, the supply of natural gas from the Malampaya offshore wells would decrease.

“That is a grave concern because we do not have any other source of hydrocarbon energy in the country. I will work on that. I also intend to revise the provisions that are causing unjust and unreasonable power rates for Filipinos,” he said.

The four-time senator hopes to continue the amendments he introduced to the Epira that he single-handedly opposed in 2001.

Enrile also joined Mandanas’ 75th birthday celebration. “We are both running for our fifth terms. I am running for a fifth term in the Senate, and Gov. Dodo is running for a fifth term as governor in Batangas.”

“Both of us cannot graduate yet because there are still many problems in this country we plan to study and address,” he said.

Asked about how he handles his campaign, Enrile said, “I am going around the country, and I intend to match the young people campaigning in the elections.”