Another unintended consequence coming up?

LOOKING back at the  President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 27, the part where he got the most genuine applause from Filipinos is where he “demanded” from Congress the “immediate amendment” of the EPIRA Law (RA 9136) to end the charging of ‘system loss’ to consumers.

As the Chief Executive summarizes our present situation to loud applause: “Hindi naman kasalanan ng consumer kung bakit nagkaroon ng system loss. Kaya hindi naman tama na kailangan sila pa ang pagbabayarin dito.”

In his 2025 SONA, President Marcos Jr. unintentionally plunged the country into one year of political chaos, national division and economic stagnation going into his present SONA. They are the consequences of his denouncing the multibillion, nay, trillion pesos flood control project scam.

At the time of course, the President was simply airing his frustration and disappointment that hundreds of billions of pesos intended to benefit every Filipino were systematically siphoned off and plundered from the very start of his administration in 2022. And by a cabal of thieving trusted officials foremost of them, the evidence and confessions indicate, is the former House Speaker, his first cousin,

That bold 2025 SONA has put us to where we are today, at the bottom of economic development, a people divided and Malacañang forced to weaponize the law to muzzle and jail critics who, just like him, were as indignant over the scale of corruption that just happened.

Reacting to the President’s last SONA, Manny V. Pangilinan, among the country’s foremost oligarchs and now owner of MERALCO, held a press conference where he asked “who” would then carry the burden of paying for the system loss?

‘System loss’ is of course, another word for system inefficiency, the hidden “cash cow” of our privately-owned energy sector that does not incentivize them to modernize their grids and facilities because the law made sure that even the cost of their inefficiency would be at public expense. It is called ‘regulatory capture.’

In saying that the system loss pass-on to consumers must now end, is PBBM prepared for another unintended consequence of his last SONA?

It should be noted that trying to keep his promise to the masses who elected him as ‘Erap Para sa Mahirap’ in 1998, President’s Estrada’s biggest “mistake” was in meddling with the elites’ main source of profits—their ownership of the country’s basic industries—water, transportation and yes, electricity.

Why did the elite “hate” Erap? He refused the water rate increase request of Manila Water, refused to increase the fare of MRT3—both controlled by the Ayala oligarchs– and the “worst” of them all, ended the sovereign (government guarantee) on the foreign loans of elite-owned power plants.

With the oligarchs’ control of the media, the Church, NGOs, the communists, etc. and with the secret backing of Washington, Erap has no chance at political survival, really.

And what was the first law Congress approved after Erap was gone? The EPIRA Law, on June 8, 2001, six months after his illegal removal.

In other words, the control of the country’s energy sector thru RA 9136 so they can endlessly profit on everyone is the ‘Crown Jewel’ of the elites’ greed in this country.

Now that PBBM has stirred the ‘Hornets’ Nest,’ so to speak, is he ready for the potential grave consequence of his populist statement?