FIRING LINE: Charging the middle

FIRING LINE: Charging the middle

 By Robert B. Roque Jr. | April 30, 2026

Nowadays, it seems everyone on Facebook wants to be counted among the 4Ps beneficiaries. And I don’t blame them. Because when “ordinary Filipinos in the working class” open their electric bills and discover they are helping shoulder discounts for others, their reaction can easily be envy, if not rage.

Let’s put it in proper context: Filipinos are good-natured; nobody is begrudging “the elderly and the below, the below poverty-line so to speak” for enjoying a little relief. In hard times, subsidies for the poorest are necessary.

That is not the issue, although some — out of exasperation — do bring the argument there where the poor are often favored and the dictum that “those who have less in life must have more in justice” becomes oppressive.

The issue for most in the working class is this: why are struggling working families being quietly tapped to pay for this “ayuda”?

A household that consumes over 200 kWh a month is hardly living in luxury. That could be a family of five in a cramped apartment, a multigenerational household sharing one meter, or a breadwinner who simply needs fans and lights running through the brutal summer heat. Is that now a punishable offense?

That is why Senators Bam Aquino and Risa Hontiveros are right to demand accountability, if not a lot of explaining, from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). Aquino has filed Senate Resolution No. 375, seeking a Senate inquiry into the implementation of the Expanded Lifeline Rate Act, arguing that subsidies for marginalized consumers should be funded through government appropriations.

Perhaps, even a full review of Meralco’s collections and, subsequently, ordering refunds for excessive charges if warranted must be explored, as Hontiveros suggested. 

What has been quietly implemented has hit hard on most households, and the outrage has gone through opposite ends of the Senate political spectrum. I mean, from these two kakampinks, all the way to diehard-Sara supporter, Sen. Imee Marcos, lawmakers are noticing how this setup is unacceptable.

Taken all together, their message is simple: helping the poor should not come at the expense of the struggling middle that has been living literally from paycheck to paycheck.

To be fair, this is not entirely Meralco’s doing. The utility is implementing a subsidy system mandated under the Expanded Lifeline Rate Law and ERC regulations. The charge is small — roughly ₱2 for a household consuming 200 kWh — but that misses the point. 

If the government wants to provide ayuda-level discounts or zero billing for the poorest, then fund it through the national budget. Spread the responsibility through the thickening treasure chest of government padded by gross taxation. Am I right, Executive Secretary Ralph Recto?

Last month, President Marcos was enjoying a rebound in public approval, but nothing erodes goodwill faster than making hardworking Filipinos feel punished for working. That will drag BBM’s numbers back to Middle-earth.

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