ERC told to consider halting electricity bill payments

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Tuesday ordered the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to consider imposing a three-month halt on electricity bill payments in areas devastated by Severe Tropical Storm Trami.

The relief proposed by Mr. Marcos would also cover electricity disconnection, the presidential palace said in a statement. Staggered bill payments for October to December should be considered, he added.

In an 8 a.m. report, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said 161 cities and municipalities in the country were under a state of calamity due to Trami, which is locally called Kristine.

There were 128 reported deaths, 14 of which had been validated, it said. Twenty-eight people were still missing, it added. It said 115 reported injuries, 10 of which had been confirmed.

Damaged houses hit 83,777, more than 5,400 of which had been totally destroyed, the agency said.

The crop and fishery sectors had logged P340 billion in damage, the Department of Agriculture said in an 8 a.m. report.

The report came from its regional offices in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol Region, Western and Eastern Visayas, Soccsksargen and Caraga Region.

“Damage and losses have been reported in rice, corn, cassava, high-value crops, livestock and poultry, fisheries and agricultural infrastructure.”

Greenpeace Philippines earlier said Trami, which submerged parts of the Bicol region in floodwaters, was the “third-most highly devastating weather event to batter the country this year.” — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza