Good morning, Mister Chair, fellow members of this Committee on Public Services and to all our resource persons.
Congress has the responsibility to ensure that only the most qualified and most responsible individuals and organizations should be granted this privilege of franchise of electricity and power.
It is very unfortunate that our country is the highest or one of the highest among Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members in terms of logistic cost. It was estimated that the logistic cost is 25% of percentage of sales. This is high compared with other Southeast Asian countries, specifically Indonesia (21%), Vietnam (16%), and Thailand (11%). The country’s logistic cost is double compared to the average logistic cost among developed countries ranging from 10 – 11 %.
In this hearing, this Representation would want to ensure that the applicants of the franchise are the most competent and will be able to provide quality services within their area of jurisdiction and commensurate to the needs of the community.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.