The Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) has filed a bill granting qualified minimum wage earner households a uniform 50% discount on applicable electricity charges for their principal residence.
The party, led by its president, Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, also seeks to provide automatic lifeline enrollment for marginalized consumers through the bill.
House Bill 8191 forms part of the party’s
“Ginhawa KIT”—the Kuryente–Internet–Trabaho agenda—which aims to ease the burden of rising household expenses on working families.
The measure, the party said, responds to rising electricity bills that continue to strain households, particularly minimum wage earners struggling to stretch their income amid increasing living costs.
Lakas-CMD said it intends to institutionalize electricity relief through legislation.
Reps. David Suarez of Quezon and Jay Khonghun of Zambales filed House Bill 8191 on behalf of Lakas-CMD.
Under the proposed Ginhawa sa Kuryente Act, Suarez said the 50% discount is “designed for households with at least one minimum wage earner, applied to a single residential service account corresponding to the household’s principal residence.”
The discount is “subject to verification, anti-leakage safeguards, and periodic revalidation to keep the benefit targeted and credible,” the bill adds.
Khonghun said the proposal would provide immediate relief to families.
“Members of Lakas-CMD stressed that this is the kind of relief families can feel right away because electricity is a basic need tied to health, education, safety and livelihood, and a power bill that keeps climbing forces families to make sacrifices on food, transport, school requirements and medicine,” he said.
Alongside the minimum wage earner discount, Romualdez said the bill would strengthen the lifeline rate for marginalized end-users.
He said the measure would require distribution utilities to automatically apply the lifeline benefit to qualified households through eligibility matching and account tagging, removing the burden on poor families to complete paperwork to receive assistance.
For qualified marginalized end-users whose monthly consumption does not exceed 50 kilowatt-hours (kWh), La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega V said the measure provides a 100% discount on applicable electricity charges, with the Energy Regulatory Commission tasked to set detailed parameters.
Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said automatic enrollment is crucial because many intended beneficiaries miss out when the system relies on manual registration.
Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin said the measure is a core component of Lakas-CMD’s Ginhawa Kit legislative package, which focuses on easing the cost of living through measures on electricity costs, internet access, and employment opportunities.
She said the electricity component is designed to deliver the fastest and most tangible relief at the household level.
Lakas-CMD added that the bill also seeks to make the system fairer for renters, households with shared connections, and those whose service accounts are not registered in their name.
The Energy Regulatory Commission would be tasked to craft rules preventing exclusion and establishing a clear grievance and correction mechanism.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline: “Solons seek 50% electric-bill discount for minimum-wage earners”
