Several Facebook (FB) pages have falsely claimed that the price of electricity in Metro Manila is more expensive than in Ilocos Norte. Comparative residential rates per kWh in these two places show the opposite.
On January 23, pro-Marcos FB pages published an image of an electricity bill showing a consumption of 11 kWh last December amounting to P74.64, claiming electricity bills are lower in Ilocos Norte even with the use of multiple appliances.
One of the pages said: “Ang Napakamurang Kuryente sa Ilocos Norte sa pamumuno ni Bongbong Marcos at Imee Marcos (The very cheap electricity in Ilocos Norte under the leadership of Bongbong Marcos and Imee Marcos).”
Some of the comments say the post is “fake” and that many people who live in Ilocos Norte are complaining about the high electricity costs.
According to Ilocos Norte Cooperative Inc., the region’s electricity provider, the residential rate of electricity for January this year amounts to P12.7538 per kWh, not including the value-added tax (VAT). This is higher compared to the November 2021 rate of P10.4705 per kWh.
On the other hand, the January 2022 household rate in Metro Manila is P9.7027 per kWh, including VAT, according to Meralco, the region’s electricity distributor. This is slightly higher compared to the rate in November last year which was P9.4630 per kWh, but is still lower compared to Ilocos Norte’s November 2021 and January 2022 electricity prices.
On top of the low consumption of electricity, the total amount due in the electric bill in the circulating image has been slashed due to the lifeline rate discount, a subsidized rate given to marginalized households consuming electricity less than 100 kWh in accordance with Sec. 73 of RA 9136. According to the Energy Regulatory Commission’s Frequently Asked Questions on the subsidy, the typical monthly energy consumption of a low-income household is at 49.8 kWh.
The false FB posts emerged a couple of days after former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. announced he is skipping the presidential interview organized by media giant GMA Network.
The untrue posts were published by FB pages Supporters of BBM SARA (created on Feb. 4, 2021), Marcos History (April 22, 2020), Rosario, La Union Government (May 27, 2019) and a netizen. Their posts have collectively garnered more than 6,700 reactions, 882 comments and 2.500 shares.
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(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
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