VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Electricity from Meralco NOT FREE for March, April

A YouTube channel using the name of Pres. Rodrigo Duterte misleads the public with a false blurb on a legitimate video that talks about aid for certain power consumers. The inaccurate thumbnail reads: “BILL PARA SA BUWAN NG MARSO AT ABRIL: LIBRE NA – MERALCO (Bill for the months of March and April: free – Meralco).”

Customers of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) will still pay for their power consumption during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), but the total amount will be spread out over four billing periods, allowing customers to pay in four installments.

Balitang Duterte TV, publisher of the misleading video, pirated a segment in UNTV News and Rescue’s April 15 broadcast, which discussed “Pantawid Liwanag,” an initiative of the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association (Philreca) to subsidize the electricity bill of its poorest customers for one payment cycle. Meralco, the country’s largest electric power distributor, is not part of Philreca.

A six-day old YouTube channel with only three videos uploaded to date, Balitang Duterte TV designed a thumbnail using Meralco’s logo and an image of a billing statement from the company. It also covered UNTV’s original graphic, superimposed a false text and added a false headline.

Balitang Duterte TV’s inaccurate post was published a day after Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles announced April 15 that “lifeline consumers” or members of electric cooperatives who use up less than 50 kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity in a month will not pay for their March and April consumption.

In an April 17 statement, Philreca clarified that some cooperatives can only subsidize the bills of those consuming up to 20 kWh, while others pledged to slash the amounts to be paid by their customers.

The misleading video has gained almost 400,000 views on YouTube, and interactions of more than 830,000 times on Facebook, both in private and public accounts. At least 253 public groups on the social media platform carry the misleading clip, including the groups Official ISKO Moreno 2022, RODRIGUEZ, MONTALBAN, RIZAL (Buy and Sell), toni and alex gonzaga, Mayor Isko and President Duterte Supporters, and OFFICIAL LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT Rodrigo Roa DUTERTE.

YouTube Channels Nick JE TV and Clyde TV posted similar videos with false headlines, misleading the public with wrong information.