LA TRINIDAD,Benguet — Following President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s call during his State of the Nation Address to ease electricity costs for Filipino consumers, Benguet Rep. Eric Go Yap immediately acted within 24 hours and filed two legislative measures in the House of Representatives aimed at stripping taxes from monthly power bills.
“The President’s call is more than a proposal to reduce electric bill, it is a challenge to reexamine whether our laws continue to reflect the principle that accountability should rest with those responsible for losses, not with consumers who faithfully pay their monthly bills. Congress now has an opportunity to translate that principle into meaningful reform that’s why I immediately filed these measures to get the ball rolling in Congress. Kailangan natin ng mga dagdag na batas na talagang makakatulong sa tao at mataas ang tsansa na papasa, hindi yung mga pang-optics lang,” said Yap.
The bills, filed on July 28, directly align with the president’s directive to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA) and prohibit unfair fees—such as system loss charges and their accompanying taxes—from being passed on to households.
Under House Bill No. 10328, Yap proposes exempting the system loss charge billed by distribution utilities and electric cooperatives to residential end-users from the 12 percent Value-Added Tax (VAT) which seeks to amend Section 109 of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, tasking the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to ensure that the VAT exemption is reflected on monthly bills while mandating executive agencies to promulgate implementing rules within 60 days.
“System loss is a cost of operating the power system, not a burden that should automatically fall on ordinary consumers. Ang panawagan para tapusin ito is a call for fairness, accountability, and genuine consumer protection. Consumers should pay for the power they use—not for the power that was lost before it ever reached them,” Yap explained.
Yap also introduced House Bill No. 10327, which seeks to repeal Batas Pambansa Blg. 36. Enacted in 1979, the four-decade-old law imposes an energy tax on electric power consumption, which is an outdated and an unnecessary burden on Filipino households struggling with rising living costs.
The lawmaker emphasized that electricity consumers in the country currently face among the highest electricity rates in Southeast Asia, weighed down by various pass-through charges including generation, transmission, distribution, and government taxes. Yap stressed that removing these tax burdens will allow families to devote more of their disposable income to basic necessities like food, education, and healthcare.
The filing follows President Marcos’ SONA address, where the chief executive urged Congress to overhaul EPIRA and end system loss pass-through charges and argued during his speech that consumers should not be penalized or forced to pay for energy losses resulting from technical inefficiencies or grid distribution issues.
“It will be challenging but with no less than the President saying it, I think it will hurdle Congress. Siguradong magiging interesting ang discussions dito,” Yap explained.
