smbet Meralco franchise approval eyed before end of 19th Congress

MANILAsmbet, Philippines — Sen. Joel Villanueva is hopeful the bill seeking to extend Manila Electric Co. (Meralco)’s legislative franchise will be approved before the end of the 19th Congress.

At the Kapihan sa Senado yesterday, Villanueva said he, as bill sponsor, is pushing to have the measure to extend the franchise of the country’s largest power distributor for another 25 years.

Villanueva said Meralco plans to invest P24 billion to repair its electric posts and improve the electric distribution system in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas and Rizal.

Meralco also promised to reduce systems loss and minimize power interruptions, he added.

Villanueva is eyeing to have the bill passed on second reading before the break in February for the 2025 election campaign period and to have it approved on final reading before the end of the 19th Congress in June.

“From the time I took charge of the subcommittee, I told Meralco to do better. There’s no such thing as a perfect company, but they’re willing to walk the extra mile,” Villanueva said, adding that the Senate does not want to interrupt Meralco’s services for eight million consumers.

The flooded barangays are crisscrossed by rivers and dotted with swamps that connect the 220,000-hectare Ligawasan Delta, a catch basin for more than a dozen large waterways that spring from the hinterlands of Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Bukidnon provinces.

The cache, comprised of two 12 gauge shotgun, two .45 caliber Thompson, an M203 grenade launcher tube, a KG9 submachinegun, an Ultimax rifle and two M79 grenade launchers, are now in the custody of the 2nd Mechanized Battalion that has jurisdiction Guindulungan town.

While Meralco’s franchise bill is pending at the Senatesmbet, it was approved at the House of Representatives in November last year.