THE Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association (PHILRECA) said all 121 electric cooperatives (ECs) in the country have committed to join the Pantawid Liwanag program.
The group said P365 million has initially been allocated by ECs to subsidize the power bills of at least three million consumer beneficiaries who belong to low-income, marginalized households.
The National Electrification Administration (NEA) said ECs are authorized to realign the budget they have set aside for some of their institutional activities this year to fund the initial rollout of their respective Pantawid Liwanag programs.
This option and other fundraising activities wil not risk the budgets allocated for their capital expenditures and operating expenses.
The agency has instructed all ECs to cancel their planned 2020 institutional activities in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak with the national government and public health experts strictly prohibiting all kinds of mass gatherings.
“The budget already appropriated for the said (institutional) activities may be realigned into working capital requirements necessary to sustain and ensure the continuity of EC operations and to finance their programs such as Pantawid Liwanag,” Masongsong further stated.
The Pantawid Liwanag program was initiated by PHILRECA in cooperation with the National Association of General Managers of Electric Cooperatives.
Only ECs are mandated to follow the scheme and does not involve private distribution utilities.
