Erwin Tulfo seeks transparency, installment payments for 'bill deposits'

According to The Manila Times, the complaints followed the reimposition of bill deposits in October, when some Meralco customers reported thousands of pesos in additional charges under the "other charges" section of their bills.[1]Tulfo, chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy[1], told The Manila Times in a statement that Filipinos "were blindsided by this increase."[1]Astig.ph quotes Tulfo as saying that "Most of the complaints raised with us are that the 'other charges' are higher than the consumption charges"[2].Journal News Online reports that despite MERALCO postponing the imposition of the said bill deposit, Tulfo highlighted the lack of transparency in how it was reflected in consumers' bills.[3]The Manila Times reports that Tulfo pointed to forecasts of a strong El Niño[1] and urged utilities to "please be considerate and avoid imposing these additional payments."[1] He also told distributors, "uphold your corporate social responsibility and allow consumers to pay in tranches,"[1] according to the paper.According to Journal News Online, the ERC has directed power distributors to give consumers the option to pay bill deposits in three equal monthly installments.[4]Astig.ph reports that Meralco has said the collection covers only customers who earlier received a refund after two years of paying on time and then missed payments.[2] The outlet adds that the company has also promised an automatic six-month installment arrangement[2] and a separate line on the bill for the deposit.