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00:03 Jumpers and the theft of electricity cables are still prohibited.
00:07 The company also said that they are putting their lives at risk by conducting electric theft.
00:13 They can also be charged and imprisoned under the Anti-Electricity Pilferage Act of 1994.
00:20 To discuss this and other issues in our service today, we have with us Meralco,
00:25 Spokesperson and Vice President for Corporate Communications, Joe Zaldarriaga.
00:30 You can also join us and post your questions or comments on our Facebook Live.
00:35 Good afternoon to you, Joe.
00:36 Good afternoon to you, Ruth.
00:39 And to all of our viewers in CNN Philippines,
00:43 I am here to give information on the topic of today's program.
00:48 Let's start with what we mentioned earlier about your program, Urban Blight.
00:53 I think that's your response to the wires that are hanging outside.
00:59 But there are many reasons why there are such things.
01:02 Please explain to us, Joe.
01:04 The Urban Blight campaign of Meralco, with our cooperation with the government,
01:11 particularly with the local government units,
01:13 is trying to separate the facilities of our electricity.
01:21 The same is true for our partners, particularly the telcos, cables, etc.
01:27 We noticed that during the pandemic, the lines were suddenly cut off
01:35 and were placed in our facilities, particularly in our posts, without permission.
01:44 Ruth, they need an application or authority to attach the so-called third-party,
02:00 either telco, cable or whoever.
02:04 Please inform us so that they can have a permission to cut the lines in our facilities.
02:12 Not only in our facilities, but also in the local government units down to the barangay level.
02:19 Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, there was a problem in terms of, one, monitoring these,
02:27 two, ensuring that these third-party partners of Meralco will be implemented.
02:38 But we are now addressing that very closely.
02:41 In fact, I was there earlier with our people in the networks who inspected and worked
02:49 so that our facilities, if we need to replace the post, we replace it.
02:56 If we need to remove the lines, we remove them.
03:00 But unfortunately, in the process, there were some who were affected by the issue.
03:05 We have to implement the policy that is lawfully in place.
03:13 We have to ensure public safety.
03:15 At the end of the day, that is our mandate.
03:19 While we provide 24/7 service to all our customers, to ensure the safety of the community and the general public.
03:29 You mentioned that there are big companies, you said that after the pandemic, there are more.
03:35 These are from companies, either telcos or cable companies.
03:39 But are you still seeing illegal wiring or illegal connections,
03:43 that are still causing jumpers in residential areas?
03:48 That is a different issue altogether, Ruth.
03:51 Because jumpers or illegal service connections is actually a violation of the law.
03:58 In particular, Republic Act 7832, known as the Anti-Electricity Pilferage Law of 1994.
04:05 That is a violation of the law, aside from the fine of imprisonment.
04:14 What I want to emphasize here is this,
04:17 maybe the syndicates involved in illegal connections, power pilferage,
04:27 they are putting themselves in danger, in danger.
04:34 Because if you resort to illegal connections, while you are doing the attachments,
04:39 illegal attachments, you may get into an accident.
04:42 There are instances where you may lose your life.
04:46 So we, as part of the intensification of our campaign,
04:51 we have what we call elevated metering centers in the hotspots,
04:58 so we can fix this.
05:00 And I'm happy to report that from the time we started that campaign,
05:05 we managed and controlled the pilferage.
05:10 But before, in your system, and other illegal connections,
05:17 it seems like you pay for system loss.
05:20 Yes. There are two components, Ruth, for system loss.
05:25 One is inherent in the system, which is line technical loss, as we call it.
05:30 That is the huge chunk of the system loss portion.
05:34 There is a small part, which is pilferage.
05:36 We are allowed a ceiling of up to 5.5 percent,
05:40 but over the past couple of years, we have been below the cap.
05:45 But having said that, even if we're below the cap,
05:48 at the end of the day, our mandate is to really lower the system loss level
05:53 because that redounds to savings for customers.
05:56 Whenever we lower the level of system loss,
05:59 that results in a lower rate for customers.
06:03 That's our initiative.
06:06 Even if it cannot be covered by the whole system,
06:10 we can address it with improvements in the number of pilferers that we can stop or catch.
06:23 Later, we will continue our discussion with Miralco spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga
06:28 in the return of "Newsroom Ngayon," here on CNN Philippines.
06:32 We will return to our service with Miralco spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga.
06:36 We will talk about their campaign, Urban Blight, against illegal wiring and even the theft of electricity.
06:44 I just want to go back to what I remember,
06:47 because of the wires that were exposed.
06:49 I remember what happened in Binondo, the collapsed Pose Cabacailan.
06:54 What are the reasons for such incidents?
06:57 If such incidents happen in a place, what should our countrymen do?
07:03 Thank you for the question, Ruth.
07:05 What happened in Binondo, in our initial opinion,
07:10 was the result of heavy attachments.
07:14 It seems that our facilities were not able to handle it.
07:18 But we immediately gave attention to it.
07:23 At the same day, we sent crews to the area and we fixed the damaged facilities.
07:29 We still currently have an ongoing campaign in the Binondo area
07:36 to continuously address the issue of overloading of our facilities.
07:43 This is only a wake-up call for us,
07:46 but this is an incident that made our resolve to address it once and for all.
07:56 Here, what we brought back, not only in Binondo, but in many other places,
08:03 is that these attachments are not being removed,
08:08 both in Meralco and local government units.
08:12 That is why we are addressing this now to make sure that
08:16 a similar incident in the future will not happen again.
08:19 If our countrymen notice such incidents, should they report it to you immediately?
08:24 And also, like what we saw earlier,
08:27 the post was cut off, there was a hole.
08:30 If that happens, shouldn't the electricity supply be turned off in the area?
08:36 What should they do if they notice such incidents?
08:41 We can call them. We have a hotline, 16211, in Langayen.
08:46 But we can also be accessed or reached through our social media sites.
08:51 We are on Facebook and we are on Twitter.
08:53 We also have SMS where we can be reached through text.
08:58 We have many touchpoints in Ruth where they can reach their concerns.
09:04 If they have a video, they can send it to us.
09:08 On screen is the contact information of Meralco.
09:11 There's our website, there's our Facebook account,
09:14 formerly Twitter, ex-YouTube, Instagram, email, and our hotline number.
09:21 So, hopefully, if they notice something like that,
09:24 they will let us know immediately.
09:27 Okay, lastly, Joe, the Energy Department's campaign is ongoing
09:33 regarding the Lifeline Raid Program.
09:35 The application was extended, right?
09:38 Yes.
09:39 The public is advised again what they need to do to avail them of discounts.
09:44 You're right, Ruth. I think there's a tripartite agreement on the part of the government.
09:48 As one of the distribution utilities operating in the country,
09:54 part of our mandate is to enforce what is stipulated in the law.
09:59 In this particular case, since there is a new law implementing rules and regulations as well on the Lifeline Raid,
10:09 what will happen now is that it will be extended until next year, 2024.
10:15 So our countrymen still have time to apply under the Lifeline Raid Program
10:23 so they can provide the necessary information and be included in the program.
10:29 As we speak, there are many who applied to us, almost 20,000.
10:36 The approved is almost 22,000 already.
10:40 So we will gradually include those who should be part of the program.
10:49 What will you do?
10:50 I'm urging those consuming no more than 100 kilowatt hours a month to please apply under the program.
10:58 There is a new law that is being implemented here.
11:02 Only those who should be part of the program should apply.
11:09 For others, as before Ruth, there is no distinction.
11:13 Yes.
11:14 You will not exceed 100 kilowatt hours.
11:15 Yes.
11:16 If you are part of an expensive condominium, you will be included in the program and you will receive a discount.
11:21 It's not like that anymore.
11:22 Only those who are included in the program, our poor countrymen, those in the marginalized sectors,
11:31 should only be the ones part of the program.
11:34 What will they do? Will they go to your office? What should they do? Or requirements?
11:39 They just need to fill an application form, a government ID, they need to be included in the four-piece program of the government,
11:48 or they need a certification to be part of the marginalized sector in the local social welfare development office.
11:55 These are the documents that are needed to prove that they are included in our countrymen who need help under the program.
12:07 Thank you very much, Mr. Meralco, Spokesperson and Vice President for Corporate Communications, Joe Zaldarriaga.
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