Business Mirror
03 Mar 2014
Written by Lenie Lectura
The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) on Monday said it has until 2015 to fully comply with a 2013 Supreme Court (SC) ruling that mandated the utility firm to return the P30.2 billion it overcharged to customers.
“We have up to 2015 to complete the refund process for the remaining customers,” Meralco Spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said.
About 95 percent of Meralco customers entitled to the refund have received it. The remaining 5 percent of Meralco customers have terminated accounts, Zaldarriaga said.
“We have strictly followed the process of the SC refund order. In fact, all our customers entitled to the refund have been notified or refunded. We continue to remind customers to present necessary documents required,” the Meralco spokesman said, who added that the remaining 5 percent is equivalent to an estimated P1.5 billion in refunds.
Meralco, according to the SC, wrongfully passed on to its customers many years of corporate income taxes.
The utility firm’s comments were in reaction to a House Resolution filed by House Deputy Minority Leader Arnel Ty, who urged the House Committee on Energy to inquire into Meralco’s failure to fully comply with the SC order.
“We were told that up to now, or more than 10 years later, Meralco has yet to refund at least P1.5 billion to approximately 260,000 customers,” Ty said.
Ty invoked The Consumer Act, or Republic Act 7394, which mandates the State “to protect the interest of consumers, promote their general welfare, and to establish the standards of conduct for business and industry.” source
