After spending four years in office, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. finally acknowledged that system losses in electric bills should not be passed on to households, especially as the country continues to feel the impact of the Middle East conflict.

During his 5th State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, Marcos "demand" that Congress to '''immediately'' amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001 to remove system loss charges in electric bills. The Philippines, already with one of the highest power rates in Asia, has been reeling due to effect of the conflict on oil prices since Feb 28.

“If we're talking about lowering prices, in my opinion it's time for us to stop passing the system loss on to consumers," he said.

"It is being passed on to consumers and added to their bill, which is then also subject to value-added tax," he explained.

Marcos said that "it is not the consumers' fault that system loss occurred. Therefore, it is not right that they should be the ones made to pay for it."

"We demand for the immediate amendment of the EPIRA and to prohibit charging systems loss against consumers including the added values thereon," he added.

The President also called for the immediate passage of the proposed "Sariling Kuryente” Act, which seeks to simplify and reduce the cost of installing solar panels and battery storage systems in homes, allowing more families to generate their own electricity and help bring down electricity rates.

Marcos assured the public that the government recognizes their clamor for lower electricity prices and is pursuing reforms to make energy more affordable for Filipino households. Robina Asido/PHS