Rebuilding economy, tough but doable
As I pen this column, Malacañang is still reviewing if Metro Manila will be downgraded to the most lenient modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) or remain under general community quarantine (GCQ). Hopes are high that come Monday, there will be new classifications in different parts of the country.
It will be exactly three months on Monday when everything went on a standstill. As we move from one quarantine classification to another, the administration did all it can to prevent the spread of the virus and protect people’s lives. We are almost on the homestretch and wish to become like New Zealand which, early this week, was declared as virus-free.
Clearly, the people are raring to return to their normal routines as shown by thousands of workers and employees returning to their workplaces as soon as the entire Metro Manila and other areas in the country were downgraded to GCQ.
Rather than take their chances of being stranded if they commute, some literally wheeled their way using bicycles going to and fro to their workplaces and offices. Many criticized the DoTr (Department of Transportation) and MMDA (Metropolitan Manila Development Authority) for lack of planning on the provision of public transport resulting in a chaotic first day of return to offices for most employees.
I can understand the reason why the DoTr decided not to allow most public transport services to operate while NCR is under GCQ — to keep as many of us healthy and alive since there is still the public threat of COVID-19 infection. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
Under GCQ guidelines, the DoTr is implementing a two-phased resumption of public transport services. The first phase is limited to train and bus augmentation units, taxis, ride-hailing cars, pointto-point buses, shuttle services and bicycles until 21 June. From 22 to 30 June, public utility buses, modern e-jeepneys, and UV express vans will be allowed to operate.
In trying times like now, when people are anxious and perturbed, it takes extra patience to explain to the public what are the rules and guidelines that we need to strictly follow to help in flattening the curve of the pandemic. There will be some egotistic individuals who will try to create apprehension among the populace through misinformation.
This is exactly what happened to Meralco recently when a misinformation campaign was launched by several groups. They alleged that Meralco took advantage of the ECQ by overcharging electricity consumers, as misleading news about “shocking electricity bills” viciously circulated in media outlets.
Meralco had been in the same predicament in the past, when “cause-oriented groups” tried to tarnish the company’s reputation with malicious attacks pertaining to electricity rates and other energy-related issues. Time and again, it was able to dodge the curveballs thrown by these groups and emerged stronger and more committed to serving its customers.
To clear the “shocking bills” issue, Meralco immediately issued an advisory explaining why the bills for the ECQ months of March, April and May were higher than the previous coolers months from December 2019 and January to February 2020.
Stringent ECQ measures kept Meralco meter readers from doing their job in March and April; thus, the electricity bills consumers received in May were estimated based on the average daily consumption from December 2019, January 2020 and February 2020. These were periods when customers typically consumed less electricity as the weather was significantly cooler.
The steeper estimates for the electricity bills in May can be attributed to the increased consumption when people had been
“
Meralco’s main concern is to keep the lights on and ensure that everyone will have electricity in their homes and as businesses slowly start to operate and pick up.
under the stay-at-home rules under the community quarantine and increased use of cooling devices amid the scorching heat.
Such explanations still made some agitated consumers more confused. Meralco did not back down from diffusing the confusion, keeping its public information office busy in disseminating clarifications that can easily be understood by the public. Indeed, patience is a virtue.
Meralco complied with Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and the Department of Energy’s (DoE) orders to validate the accuracy of their billing calculations, and assured its power consumers that it charges only for what energy is consumed.
Meralco had been in the same predicament in the past, when ‘cause-oriented groups’ tried to tarnish the company’s reputation with malicious attacks pertaining to electricity rates.
As the ECQ eases down, Meralco redeployed meter readers in early May. This should reassure agitated electricity consumers over Meralco’s use of consumption estimates in their May bills, as discrepancies between estimates and actual usage have already been reconciled.
In addition, electricity consumers, residential and business alike, will receive letters explaining the adjustment computation in their June bills. There is also a detailed breakdown of charges at the back of the bill.
Meralco understands the difficulties faced by families as well as small and medium enterprises, thus it turned to a consume-now, pay-later setup as the least disruptive option. Electricity customers with 200 kilowatt-hours (kWh) and below of consumption in February will be allowed to pay up to six monthly installments for their electricity bills during the lockdown, while those with consumption of more than 200 kWh in February can pay their bills within four months.
To help its business partners recover faster, Meralco also suspended the Guaranteed Minimum Billing Demand (GMBD) charge during the quarantine period from 16 March to 30 June, and instead, they will just pay for their actual demand readings. This adjustment will provide business customers much-needed relief during these challenging times.
Similar with the government’s goal of bringing back people’s lives to normalcy, Meralco’s main concern is to keep the lights on and ensure that everyone will have electricity in their homes and as businesses slowly start to operate and pick up.
To give consumers peace of mind, Meralco assures that there will be no service disconnection to allow the populace to rebuild and start a new chapter of their lives.
The famous Brazilian lyricist and novelist, Paulo Coelho, said: “It is not difficult to rebuild a life. All we need is to be aware that we have the same strength we had before, and to use it in our favor.”
Together, we can rise again and have the same strength that transformed the country as one of the fastest growing economies in the region. We can use that in our favor in becoming another New Zealand in God’s perfect time.