MANILA, Philippines - Members of a consumer welfare group on Monday trooped to Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City to call on the government to reduce the power rate in the country by 50 percent.
Before the 5th State of the Nation Address of President Benigno Aquino III, members of the Cheap Household Electricity Inc. (CHEMO) said the Aquino administration to cut down the high cost of electricity in the country.
In a statement, CHEMO president Manuel Octubre said that power rate in the Philippines is four times higher than electricity in Vietnam.
Octubre added that it is also three times higher than power rates in Indonesia, Thailand, India and China.
He said that the consumption of 150 kilowatt represents 20 percent of the salary of a public school teacher and 25 percent of an ordinary laborer's wage.
Aside from the CHEMO, other people's groups such as the Alliance of Concerned Teachers are calling on the government to increase the salaries of public tutors.