As people stay
home to comply with Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) protocols in response to
the COVID-19 pandemic, their electric and water consumptions increase and so do
their utility bills.
This, after Davao
Oriental 2nd District Representative Mayo Almario urged the power and water
providers nationwide to be more accommodating to their affected consumers as
part of their corporate social responsibility program.
The lawmaker
proposes that consumers belonging to the low to middle income families living
in ECQ areas nationwide with residential accounts for their power and water
connections be assisted by the utility providers by way of a fifty per cent
(50%) discount on their utility bills for March to April; and, likewise, in May
should the ECQ be extended. The other 50%, according to Almario, is to be added
to the regular monthly billings post-ECQ in a staggered manner over a period of
5 months.
“The consumers
need to stay home to be safe. At home, they use more electricity and water
which will increase their utility bills way over their budget. This will be a
burden considering that many lost their jobs during the ECQ, and even after ECQ
there is still uncertainty on how soon the economy can bounce back,” Almario
said.
These suggested
payment schemes will help spread the burden of accumulated expenses and, at the
same time, provide our citizens the necessary utilities when they need them the
most.
