Energy Secretary rules out electricity subsidy in the Philippines

It’s not really about subsidy, but financial assistance to the marginalized sector, says Philippine Energy Secretary Jose Almendras. 

"If you think about it, we’re being celebrated all over the world for being market driven. What we’re looking at is not really subsidy, but financial assistance to the marginalized sector. That’s why we have our conditional cash transfer program. We are accelerating the commission of cash transfer," Almendras said in an exclusive interview with Asian Power as he ruled out the possibility of electricity subsidy in the future.

He adds that it mainly has to do with the demographic situation of a person. “You have the 5 million Filipino families, and you plow in 21 billion this year. By next year it’s going to be 35 billion, before the end of the term of the president, it’ll probably go to 50 billion. This is because it’s not just supporting them for energy, but really helping them. It’s a catch-on mechanism to take them out of poverty,”he said. 

Almendras, together with the energy minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Sri Idis Jala, and Second Minister for Trade and Industry of Singapore, S Iswaran, talked about electricity subsidy at the recently concluded Singapore Energy Summit held at Suntec Singapore. 

In Malaysia, electricity subsidy is done according to the consumption in households. While in Singapore, the Government credits a monthly electricity charge subsidy. 

On the other hand, the Philippines remains to be one of the few countries in Asia without electricity subsidy. Its electricity bills are also among the most expensive in Asia.