Defend Job Philippines joins and supports the people’s protest today in many parts of Metro Manila to show condemnation on the P4.15/kWh power rate hike by the Manila Electric Company or MERALCO. Their group joins the contingent of workers in Plaza Salamanca, Taft Avenue corner Kalaw St. which will march to the Supreme Court of the Philippines where the last oral arguments will be heard today.
With the people’s strong and broad clamor all over Philippines, this afternoon, the Supreme Court has extended the Temporary Restraining Order over the proposed power rate hikes.
Power rate hike violates various provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ICESCR and also the Philippine constitution. As a state party to the ICESCR, the Philippine government “shall by all means protect its people their right to adequate standard of living, right to access of resources including energy, right to food or everyone to be free from hunger right of workers to decent wages, right of children to brighter future, right of women to enjoy their economic, social and cultural rights.”
Power rate hike violates the rights of workers and their family to a decent life. The P4.15/kWh power rate hike will trample on all of these rights. When the power rate goes up, everything goes up like prices of food and other basic commodities. Workers’ already meager wage will find it very hard to bring enough food or enough money to sustain a decent living for their families. The rate of the increase could have supported already a child’s education or for other basic needs in the family.
The EPIRA Law should be junked. Due to the implementation of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act or EPIRA Law of 2001 or RA 9136, instead of ensuring equitable access and enjoyment of the country’s energy resources, the law gives power and control to giant private corporations like MERALCO, to own and monopolize the power industry and raise prices whenever they want. It has privatized the whole National Power Corporation. From power generation to transmission, distribution and supply, everything is privatized. So how come this law and scheme will protect the public interest?
Power Industry is not for BUSINESS. It is a PUBLIC UTILITY which aims to give PUBLIC SERVICE and for the common good of the Filipino people. Thus, asserting the public interest and the rights of the people at stake is right and just.
Stop the proposed Php4.15/kWh power rate hike!
Junk EPIRA Law!
Wage Increase, Not Price Hikes.
