Timely interventions

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The ongoing war in the Middle East and the energy crisis brought about by the disruption in the oil markets, as Iran continues to block tankers from shipping millions of barrels of crude daily, are expected to dampen economic growth in the Philippines.

Economists at Citi Research explained that this geopolitical conflict could result in lower remittances from the Middle East which hosts over two million overseas Filipinos, and higher inflation that could erode consumers’ purchasing power.

They noted that weaker consumer demand could, in turn, hurt businesses, especially given the hike in fuel prices. Higher fuel prices mean an increased cost of transportation and everything that is transported, including food and even electricity.

It’s good that two programs of the Department of Energy are already in place that might just help Filipinos amidst this crisis.

The DOE under Secretary Sharon Garin has committed to ensure energy resiliency and affordability through targeted state interventions, particularly the streamlining of the implementation of lifeline subsidies rate program (LSRP) and the expediting of approvals for net metering applications. Both aim not only to provide economic relief to low-income households but also to increase solar energy capacity in the country.

Net metering is a subsidy mechanism by the DOE that allows electricity consumers with rooftop solar systems to export excess power to the grid in exchange for bill credits. By offsetting household electricity consumption with self-generated renewable energy, net metering reduces dependence on grid power and lowers monthly electricity expenses over time.

When Garin assumed office last year, she pledged to tear down the walls of red tape, set clear and uniform rules and fast-track approvals so households can start generating and selling clean power without being buried in paperwork.

The DOE now requires local government units to use standardized application forms, comply with prescribed turnaround times for key permits and certifications and to issue electrical permits within three working days and certificates of final electrical inspection within seven working days.

An LGU’s failure to act on these requests within the prescribed period automatically treats an application for net metering as deemed approved which allows applicants to proceed to the next stage. The same circular also required all grid-connected distribution utilities to standardize and simplify documentary requirements for net metering applications.

Meanwhile, all qualified end users will retain ownership of renewable energy certificates from the electricity they consume, which they can sell or trade through the renewable energy market. Through this policy, low-income households obtain new opportunities to further beef up their income and savings.

As of December 2025, the DOE had expanded the total number of qualified end-users approved for net metering applications to 21,224, of which 17,141 are in Luzon, 3,179 in Visayas and the rest in Mindanao.

Meanwhile, Garin also pursued policy reforms to expand the reach of lifeline rate subsidies to qualified end-users, particularly to households enrolled in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The LRSP of the DOE is a program where targeted electricity discounts are granted to low-income and minimum-consumption households to reduce their monthly power bills.

When she assumed the DOE chief position in the middle of last year, Garin inherited and faced the long-standing challenge of expanding enrollment among millions of qualified households who remained unregistered under the LRSP.

Eventually, reports indicate an improved trajectory in the uptake of the LRSP, particularly among eligible 4Ps beneficiaries, from 191,399 registered households in 2023 to 334,000 last year.

To further reach out to qualified 4Ps households this year, the DOE, together with the DSWD and the Energy Regulatory Commission institutionalized an automatic registration and availment of lifeline rate subsidies by these households. All 4Ps households, covering a target of 4.5 million families, are entitled to a 100 percent discount on their electricity bills, provided their monthly consumption does not exceed 50 kilowatt-hours.

By automating and simplifying registration for qualified 4Ps households, the secretary emphasized that red tape is reduced, thereby ensuring that assistance reaches those who need it most — faster, fairer and at scale.

The DOE noted that resources previously allocated to electricity payments can instead now be redirected toward essential needs such as nutritious food, medicines, health care services, access to clean water and other basic utilities.

It revealed that according to the recently released 2026 Global Social Progress Index, the Philippines rose three places to 87th out of 171 countries, scoring 66.76 out of 100, higher than the 63.75 global average.

The DOE also noted that through net metering and lifeline rate subsidies, it is helping ease electricity expenses and strengthen the monthly budgets of Filipino households, which, in turn translate into higher purchasing power, reinforcing steady demand for goods and services across the economy. In turn, stronger domestic consumption signals to foreign investors that the Philippine market offers stable and sustained demand for their products and services, it added.

Loopholes

Sen. Risa Hontiveros has exposed another loophole in our legal system that undesirable aliens may be abusing to the country’s detriment.

During a hearing of the Senate committee on justice and human rights, Hontiveros revealed that an alleged Chinese transnational fugitive who sought asylum in the Philippines known as Mr. Yin who was blacklisted and arrested in 2024 as an undesirable alien, was eventually released after obtaining refugee status.

Earlier, the senator also questioned why it took the Philippine Statistics Authority three months to ask the Office of the Solicitor General to petition the court to cancel the birth certificate issued to alleged Chinese national Chen Zhong Zhen who allegedly assumed the identity of businessman Joseph Sy to obtain government permits for the operation of his mining company in the country.

Hontiveros likened Chen’s case to that of Alice Guo, who was declared by a court to be a Chinese national and removed as Bamban, Tarlac mayor.

The country’s refugee protection system was designed to help people who are persecuted or whose lives are in danger in their home countries. But when it becomes a way for someone considered a criminal in their own country to avoid deportation, then there is something definitely wrong.

Thanks to Hontiveros, practices like these have been exposed. But how many foreign nationals are still out there who have obtained questionable birth certificates in the Philippines or utilize other loopholes in our system to their advantage, in the process putting our sovereignty and national security at risk?

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