Group to picket ERC building to protest Meralco rate hike

MANILA, Philippines - Despite the announcement of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Monday that it will defer the approved power rate hike for the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), a militant group on Tuesday set a picket rally at the ERC building to urge the regulatory body to stop the electric rate hikes altogether. A report over radio dzBB said the Refund Movement (Refund Energy Fees Unjustly Debited), a coalition of non-government organizations will gather before the ERC building in Ortigas at 10 a.m. in protest of the ERC's announcement that it will defer, but not completely stop, Meralco's electric rate hike originally set for November. The group earlier filed a class suit against Meralco, the National Power Corp. (Napocor) and ERC. The report quoted Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) chair Dante Jimenez as saying postponing the ERC-approved power rate hike is not enough as Meralco has not even completed its refund to consumers yet. The ERC, which last week announced the increase, said Monday it would be deferring the increase in response to the petition filed by the National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms (Nasecore). "The deferment of the implementation of ERC's decision pending consideration of any motion for reconsideration ... is clearly provided for ... and this is not the first time that ERC has exercised its prerogative," the agency's executive director, Francis Saturnino C. Juan, said. - Johanna Camille Sisante, GMANews.TV