Palace to pit Pacman vs Juday in TV ad war?

MANILA, Philippines – The government can get another celebrity to counter actress Judy Ann Santos’s defense of the Manila Electric Co. and launch a campaign to bring down the cost of electricity, Malacañang said yesterday.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, a supporter of President Arroyo, could star in an advertisement on television to call for the reduction of electricity rates for the benefit of the people.

“Will this contest of TV personalities between the government and Meralco, will it bring down the cost of electricity?” he asked. “That’s the important thing.”

However, Ermita said he was just exploring the possibilities if ever the government decides to counter the Meralco commercials of Santos on television.

“If ever we decide to counter their ad, maybe we’ll do it for the entertainment of the viewing public,” he said. “We’ll have to see if we really need to counter that. I don’t know yet.”

Ermita doubts that Meralco’s customers could be swayed by Santos’s ad since they would continue to be charged high electricity rates by the power firm.

“What is important here is whether they can convince the people, especially when (consumers) receive their electricity bills every month and see that the rates are still high,” he said.

“And I think it is not easy to explain to the people why this so-called systems loss should be charged to consumers.”

If ever the government decides to come out with the ad, it would not be the first time that it has tapped a celebrity for that purpose.

Actress Jolina Magdangal hosts a regular program for Malacanang, which highlights the programs and activities of President Arroyo.

The ad featuring Santos centers on the controversial systems loss charged to customers by Meralco.

Lopez firm defends ad

First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPHC) defended yesterday its move to sponsor the Meralco advertisement of Santos.

“As a major shareholder of Meralco, we are very concerned with the inaccurate information being circulated in the media,” FPHC said in a statement.

“Certain groups are using technical concepts and complicated issues to manipulate public opinion, discredit Meralco or the Lopez group and advance their personal agenda.

“We want to help explain the concept of systems loss because the public needs to understand the issues so they can make informed opinions.”

The FPHC said the commercial sought to explain the salient points of systems loss.

“We want the public to know that it is a natural electric occurrence among all utility companies, and its recovery is allowed by law,” FPHC said.

“Unfortunately, legal provisions and regulations are often hard to understand but they have to be relied upon in this instance.”

The Lopez-controlled firm said a publicly-listed company like Meralco, which is subject to regulation by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), has to abide by the laws and rules to which it is subject.

“It cannot maintain its viability and efficiency as a service provider by doing otherwise,” FPHC said.

The company said the commercial is meant to explain by means of the “electricity-melting ice” analogy the complex concept of systems loss.

“There is no intent to deceive or confuse but simply an effort to clarify, within the constraints of the broadcast medium, the simple fact that technical losses account for approximately 75 percent of systems losses while pilferage accounts for 23 percent, and own use accounts for two percent.,” the FPHC said. – Donnabelle Gatdula, Marvin Sy