TO offer people more breathing space amid lingering high commodity prices, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian recently proposed for the government to provide an additional subsidy of P1/kWh for low-income consumers, or a total of P418 million, to be sourced from the general appropriations fund.
With the effectivity of the “Lifeline Rate Extension Act” authored mainly by Gatchalian, a “lifeliner” in Metro Manila was able to save an average of P194.36 in February of last year, and even as high as P223.34 in the same month this year—an increase of 14.91 percent due to high inflation rates.
According to the senator’s estimates, savings incurred by beneficiaries in the previous month would have afforded them to buy 5.6 kilograms of rice based on the average retail price of regular-milled rice of P39.195 per kilogram, per data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.
However, with the additional P1/kWh from the government that the lawmaker is pitching, lifeline consumers can save an average of P296.67 every month. This can buy a family 7.5 kilos of rice, he said.
“We’re glad that many of our people are getting relief from the law we pushed on the electricity lifeline rate,” Gatchalian said, mostly in Filipino. “But we can help them further bolster savings to cover their other needs, while high inflation rates persist.”
The lifeline rate subsidy has provided relief for 4.181 million households identified as beneficiaries of the “Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program” across the country. To qualify for the subsidy, beneficiaries of the 4Ps need to consume not more than 100-kilowatt hours of electricity per month.
Of the total number of beneficiaries, 209,210 households are in Metro Manila.
The subsidy is provided under Republic Act 11552, or the “Act Extending and Enhancing the Implementation of the Lifeline Rate, amending for the purpose Section 73 of Republic Act 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.”
The country’s inflation rate in February 2023 eased a bit to 8.6 percent from 8.7 percent in January, but is still the highest in Southeast Asia.
Energy remained one of the top contributors to inflation, accounting for 1.0 percentage point. In February 2022 the country’s inflation was just at 3 percent.