State of the aviation sector

Back in 2021 and toward the end of his term, then president Rodrigo Duterte signed into law a bill creating the Department of Migrant Workers. This is in fulfillment of his campaign promise to create a department that would focus on the needs and welfare of overseas Filipino workers.

The new law basically turned the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration or POEA into the DMW, which would oversee all policies protecting the welfare of OFWs. The functions of other agencies handling OFW concerns will also be transferred to the new department.

The DMW was tasked to regulate the recruitment, employment and deployment of OFWs and spread the investigation and file cases concerning illegal recruitment and human trafficking cases involving OFWs.

Because the government levelled up its care and concern for OFWs, it had to create a department that would handle their concerns.

Maybe the government through the DMW should coordinate with the aviation authorities to find out why a number of Filipino workers destined for other countries could not leave on time either because their flights are cancelled, they are held up by immigration authorities for questioning, or they are bumped off from their flights, among other problems.

Last May, the DMW had to come to the rescue of OFWs whose flights have been delayed  or cancelled due to the eight-hour power outage that hit NAIA. According to the agency, it will revise the workers’ overseas employment certificates manually if needed to make sure that it won’t affect their scheduled departure.

For many of these OFWs, arriving at their destination on time is crucial under their employment contracts. There are those whose contracts were cancelled just because they could not arrive on time.

Meanwhile, the Department of Tourism might want to call Malacanang’s attention to the need to prioritize the problems of the aviation sector in order for the country to be able to give tourists a better experience.

Hopefully, President Marcos in his second State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) tomorrow might want to call the attention of our transport and airport authorities into addressing the problems of flight delays and cancellations, some of which may not be the fault of the air carriers at all.

OFWs, tourists and the flying public are demanding to know what is really happening, what the state of the aviation industry is at the moment.

Will the redevelopment of NAIA and choosing government’s private partner for this endeavor through a competitive bidding process solve any of these problems? Is NAIA even worth saving?

Will our aviation authorities continue using airline companies as scapegoat and throw them to the lion’s den? It’s about time that the real problem be identified so that real solutions can be formulated.

Setting the bar high

MORE Electric and Power Corp. or MORE Power, an electric power distribution utility serving Iloilo City and other towns in Iloilo province, is setting the bar high in terms of what consumers should be expecting from their service providers.

MORE Power is actually an acronym for Monte Oro Resources and Energy Inc., a subsidiary of Prime Strategic Holdings, Inc. which is owned by businessman Enrique Razon. MORE Power shot to prominence when it was granted a 25-year power distribution franchise in Iloilo City via a law signed by then president Rodrigo Duterte in 2019 after the franchise of Panay Electric Co. or PECO, which had been serving the city for 97 years, expired and Congress refused to renew it.

PECO questioned the constitutionality of MORE Power’s franchise. But the Supreme Court in 2021 denied PECO’s motion to reconsider the High Tribunal’s 2020 ruling which allowed MORE Power to take over the distribution assets of PECO via expropriation and after payment of just compensation.

On July 30 last year, MORE Power’s proposed expansion of its service areas  to those previously served by Iloilo Electric Cooperatives I and III lapsed into law under RA 11918 or the modified MORE Power franchise.

Fast forward to 2023 and MORE Power seems to be bent on proving to everybody that the government indeed made the right decision.

In fact, just recently, the company implemented the second batch of bill deposit refunds to their eligible consumers.

According to the Magna Carta for residential electric consumers, the bill deposit, which is what consumers pay when they apply for their electric meter, must be returned by distribution utilities (DU) after three years or 36 months provided that the consumer pays on time and has no record of disconnection.

It says that the customer must apply for a bill deposit refund but in the case of MORE Power, it took the initiative by informing the customer that they can already process their refund.

Last May and June, about 23 consumers received refunds. For this month of July, 65 consumers will be given bill deposit refunds and until the end of the year, it is expected that about 777 customers will be eligible for the program.

In total, the bill deposit that the company is ready to return to their eligible customers in 2023 will amount to P5 million.

Indeed, quality service deserves appreciation. To reciprocate MORE Power’s efforts in modernizing and rehabilitating power services in Iloilo City, many of its customers are willing to pay their electricity bill on time.

One good thing leads to another because as a result of consumers paying their electric bills on time for 36 months, in return they stand to benefit more. Apart from quality power services, many MORE Power consumers are eligible for the bill deposit refund stipulated under the Magna Carta for Electric Consumers.

MORE Power president and CEO Roel Castro explained that the bill deposit refund is not a reward but a right of consumers under the Magna Carta for Residential Consumers which the company strictly complies with.

Its initiative to voluntarily return the bill deposit to eligible consumers has already received commendation and recognition from various stakeholders.

Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta said that MORE Power deserves to be commended for being a good example  to other distribution utilities, even as she noted that transparency and consumer welfare are really evident in the management of the company.

Meanwhile, ERC commissioner Alexis Lumbatan pointed out that it is rare for DUs to return the bill deposit and that such should be emulated.

The Iloilo City local government is also satisfied with the efficient service provided by MORE Power.

It was only in 2020 when MORE Power started its operation in Iloilo City. However, it has already managed to reform and rehabilitate the many years of poor management and  service of the former distribution utility.

Last month, it was reported that for the sixth consecutive month this year, the DU was able to bring down the cost of electricity it provides to customers due to a decline in generation costs with the inclusion of geothermal to the power supply mix.

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