Extension of lifeliners' benefits to 2051 to help ease financial burden of the poor–Nograles
"The
poor should not be powerless."
This,
said Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles on Sunday, is the rationale behind the
President's approval of Department of Energy (DOE) recommendations that seek to
ease the financial burden of power consumers with little or no incomes.
Nograles
had earlier announced that the President had ordered the extension of the
no-disconnection policy of "lifeliners" or households that consume
minimal amounts of electricity a month, as well as urged Congress to extend the
benefits of lifeliners until 2051.
According
to the Palace official, "an important, critical benefit are the discounts
that lifeliners currently enjoy under Republic Act 10150, a law that amended
the EPIRA (Electric Power Industry Reform Act ) and extended the implementation
of the lifeline rate until June 2021."
"This
is why we welcome the action Congress has taken on pending legislative
proposals to extend the lifeline rates, particularly its decision to extend the
rates for another 30 years, just as the President requested.
The
discounts, explained Nograles, depend on the amount of electricity consumed by
households, and vary from area to area.
"The
government believes that power is a basic need that Filipino families cannot
live without, which is why we believe that steps should be taken to make it
more accessible to our less fortunate countrymen," stressed the former
legislator from Davao.
Nograles
pointed out that DOE estimates "show that providing these discounts to
underprivileged households will not hurt the bottomlines of power distributors,
as lifeliners account for only 3% of electricity sales."
"As
a consequence of extending the lifeline rates, low-income households will not
have to spend much for electricity––and instead will be able to spend more for
other basic needs, like food," added Nograles.
"Malaking tulong po ito, at nagpapasalamat po tayo sa mga kasama natin mula sa Kongreso. Pinapakita lang po dito na kailangan natin magtulungan upang tugunan ang problema ng kahirapan––upang mapagaan ang buhay ng ating mga kababayan." ###
