Meralco trying to violate SC order—Casiño

By: Bong Lozada - 11 years ago

Bayan Muna Representative Teddy Casiño . INQUIRER photo

MANILA, Philippines—Always on the prowl for any anomaly, former Bayan Muna Representative Teddy Casiño said the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has violated the Supreme Court ruling against the power rate hike.

According to a statement, Casiño said that his electric bill dated Feb. 13, 2014 contained a “Balance From Previous Billing” clause that he said amounted to P173.70 was added to his month’s bill of P2,786.86.

He added the customer service told him to ignore the clause and pay the amount on the “Total Current Amount” of P2,786.86 and ignore the “Total Amount Due” that amounted to P2,960.56.

“Meralco is trying to get around the SC’s TRO in surreptitiously adding the controversial rate hike that should not have been included in the monthly bill in the first place,” Casiño said.

He added the stealthy way that Meralco inserted the added charges could not be easily noticed and people would end up paying the additional charge.

Casiño said his group, People Opposed to Unwarranted Electricity Rates (Power) would ask the high court and the Energy Regulatory Commission to stop Meralco’s deceiving actions.

The Supreme Court, on Feb. 18, extended the TRO on Meralco’s impending rate hike.

“This is clearly bad faith on Meralco’s part and a blatant violation of the SC order,” Casiño said.