Consumers Demand “Immediate Relief” from Skyrocketing Power Rates as Congress Revisits EPIRA Law

Wazzup Pilipinas!? 

Metro Manila — Mounting frustration over persistently high electricity bills has reached Congress as consumer welfare group Kuryente.org passionately called on lawmakers to provide “immediate relief” to the public amid ongoing discussions to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) — a law that has long shaped the country’s energy landscape.

During a House Committee on Energy hearing, Bas Umali, National Coordinator of Kuryente.org, delivered a sobering message: ordinary Filipinos continue to bear the brunt of escalating power costs without ever feeling the benefits promised when EPIRA was first enacted in 2001.

“Sana mayroon ding road map ang Energy Regulatory Commission para pababain ‘yung presyo ng kuryente,” Umali urged lawmakers. “Ang kailangan namin ay immediate relief kasi sa mahabang panahon na naisabatas ‘yung EPIRA na ina-amend natin ngayon, hindi nakaranas ang consumers ng mababang presyo.”

(We hope the Energy Regulatory Commission will also have a roadmap to lower electricity rates. What we need is immediate relief because since EPIRA was enacted, consumers have never experienced affordable electricity.)

Two Decades Later, Still Waiting for Affordable Power

When EPIRA was passed more than two decades ago, it was envisioned to encourage competition, privatize the power sector, and ultimately lower electricity rates. However, consumers argue that the opposite happened — electricity in the Philippines remains among the most expensive in Asia, burdening households and small businesses alike.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), tasked with ensuring fair power pricing, has repeatedly faced criticism for failing to rein in the rising cost of electricity — a problem worsened by global fuel fluctuations, foreign exchange volatility, and the continued dependence on imported energy sources.

Just this week, Meralco, the country’s largest power distributor, confirmed another expected generation charge hike, citing the weakening peso and higher procurement costs. This marks at least the fifth increase in power rates this year, further straining Filipino families already grappling with inflation and stagnant wages.

Consumers Want a Seat at the Table

Beyond demanding cheaper electricity, Kuryente.org is also calling for greater consumer participation in shaping energy policy — a move they believe would bring transparency, fairness, and accountability to a system often dominated by large corporations and private interest groups.

“Isa sa pangunahing adbokasiya namin ay ang pagkakaroon ng participation ng mga consumers sa iba’t ibang processes sa energy sector, katulad ng pagpaplano ng legislation,” said Umali.

(One of our main advocacies is ensuring consumer participation in the various processes of the energy sector, including legislative planning.)

This appeal reflects a broader public sentiment — that the people most affected by power policies are too often excluded from decisions that directly impact their livelihoods.

Proposed Measures for Relief

Kuryente.org has consistently proposed tangible reforms to lessen the burden of high power costs, including:

Removal or reduction of the Expanded Value-Added Tax (EVAT) on electricity;

Review of the Feed-in Tariff Allowance (Fit-All) and other universal charges;

Transparent auditing of generation and transmission costs; and

Promotion of renewable and locally-sourced energy to reduce dependence on imported fuel.

These proposals, according to the group, are not mere short-term remedies but part of a broader vision to make energy a basic right, not a luxury.

A Defining Moment for Energy Reform

As Congress deliberates the amendments to EPIRA, all eyes are now on lawmakers and regulators to deliver meaningful change — not just promises. For millions of Filipino consumers, “immediate relief” means more than policy adjustments; it means being able to turn on the lights without fear of another budget-breaking bill.

The challenge before the government is clear: to finally fulfill the decades-old promise of affordable, reliable, and inclusive energy for all. Anything less, critics say, would be another betrayal of the Filipino people’s trust in reform.

At Geeks on a Beach, a startup makes the case for reviving the Philippine textile-garments industry — one partnership at a time

Wazzup Pilipinas?! 

Cebu, Philippines - At Geeks on a Beach 2025, Cecilia Martinez-Miranda, co-founder of Isla-Tek, joined Maria Elena “Nannette” Arbon, as well as Nicky Rice and Sylbil Marie Fortuna of Unisol in a panel discussion titled “From Dependence to Self-Reliance: Reviving the Philippine Textile-Garment Industry Through Technology and Tradition.” Together, they examined how technology, design, and collaboration could help restore a once-thriving sector that previously positioned the Philippines among the world’s leading garment producers.

A window of opportunity 

“Fifteen years ago, during my visit to weaving communities in Baguio, I discovered that many were using imported Chinese threads because the local supply chain had disappeared,” Miranda said. “That made me wonder — why did we stop producing our own textiles?” 

In the 1970s to  1980s, the Philippines was one of the world’s leading exporters of textiles and garments. However, the rise of cheap imported synthetic materials, rising local power costs and a lack of reinvestment in technology led to a significant decline in the industry. “The last commercial spinning mill closed down in 2024. We have the raw materials, but lack the infrastructure to process them,” Miranda noted.

Republic Act No. 9242, also known as the Tropical Fabrics Act of 2004, mandates that government uniforms must be made from fabrics containing at least 5% indigenous fibers. However, Moderator Nannette Arbon, a former regional director of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), emphasized the challenges of implementing such policies, even when they are well-intentioned. 

“This policy has been in place for twenty years but has never gained traction due to a lack of local supply,” said Arbon.

Miranda added that the revised implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of RA 9242, released in 2023, present a unique “window of opportunity” for progress. 

Weaving collaboration across the chain

Founded just a year ago, Isla-Tek is focused on developing specialty fabrics made from Philippine tropical fibers, such as pineapple and abaca. Instead of pursuing a vertical approach, the startup emphasizes collaboration by linking each stage of the supply chain. 

“We’re not trying to do everything ourselves,” Miranda explained. “We work with partners across the supply chain, from farmers, fiber processors, mills, to designers, so that value is created at every step.”

Among Isla-Tek's partners are Asia Textile Mills, a 40-year-old mill specializing in uniform fabrics which began R&D into tropical fabric in the early 2000s, and Unisol, a technology-enabled company that serves the government uniform market. “There’s a lot of innovation happening on the supply chain side,” Miranda noted. “We’re collaborating with people who have decades of experience—knowledge and skills that we can't afford to lose.”

Sylbil Marie Fortuna, Head of Customer Success at Unisol, emphasized the vital role that technology plays in connecting supply and demand. “Unisol is the go-to provider for government uniforms, offering efficient booking and delivery,” she explained. 

“Through our website, unisol.ph, clients can select fabrics and colors, upload their logos, set delivery dates, and process payments that create a hotel-like booking experience for uniform design,” said Fortuna.

Nicky Rice, Chief of Product and Design at Unisol, highlighted the importance of using local materials that resonate with consumers. She stated, “My goal as a designer is to transform fabric into something marketable, both functional and stylish, while also considering sustainability.”

A shared effort to rebuild

Challenges remain in scaling production, but the conversation at GOAB highlighted that collaboration among agriculture, manufacturing, and design could spark a new wave of domestic textile-garments innovation. 

“Competing with countries like China or India in cotton production is difficult, but few nations can produce pineapple or abaca as we do. That’s our competitive advantage,” Miranda noted.

Startups like Isla-Tek and Unisol are partnering with legacy mills, designers, and government entities, as the industry gradually reestablishes the connections between agriculture, manufacturing, and national identity. 

Although rebuilding the textile and garment sector may take time, each collaboration and partnership moves the country closer to realizing that vision. That is why the Philippine government, as the country’s biggest procuring entity, must be the first mover in supporting the local textile ecosystem by fully implementing Republic Act No. 9242.

About Geeks on a Beach

Geeks on a Beach is the Philippines’ pioneering beachside international tech and startup conference, launched in 2013. Known for its unique blend of serious conversations in a fun, laid-back environment, GOAB has connected thousands of entrepreneurs, investors, developers, creatives, and policymakers. Over the years, GOAB has helped catalyze deals, investments, and partnerships that continue to shape the Philippine and Southeast Asian startup landscape.

This year’s GOAB was held on October 1-3, 2025, at JPark Island Resort Hotel in Mactan, Cebu. It is organized by the non-profit group geeksPH with the support of its foundational government partner, the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT).

The Communication Crisis That Could Cost Us the Planet

Wazzup Pilipinas!? 

A groundbreaking report reveals why we're losing the fight for planetary health—and it's not because we don't know enough

Rotterdam, October 9, 2025 — The science is settled. The evidence is overwhelming. Climate change, biodiversity collapse, and environmental degradation are accelerating toward catastrophic tipping points that threaten human survival itself. So why aren't we acting with the urgency this crisis demands?

The answer, according to a explosive new report launched at the Planetary Health Annual Meeting in Rotterdam, is startling in its simplicity: We have a communication problem, not a knowledge problem.

"We know the science," declares Prof. Dr. Jemilah Mahmood, Executive Director of the Sunway Centre for Planetary Health. "What we lack is a shared story that resonates across communities, cultures, and decision-makers."

The Deadly Gap Between Evidence and Action

The report, Voices for Planetary Health: Leveraging AI, Media and Stakeholder Strengths for Effective Narratives to Advance Planetary Health, delivers a sobering diagnosis: while scientists have meticulously documented the interconnected crises threatening our planet, their message has become fragmented, inaccessible, and drowned out by the deafening roar of misinformation.

The result? Public discourse lags far behind scientific consensus. Trust in expertise erodes. Political will evaporates. And misinformation spreads faster than truth—a dangerous pathogen in the information ecosystem that undermines the collective action we desperately need.

This isn't just academic hand-wringing. The stakes couldn't be higher. As Dr. Rachel Marcus of the Planetary Health Alliance puts it bluntly: "The ecological crisis is a global health and human survival crisis. To safeguard a liveable future, we must come together across borders and silos."

A Crisis Told in a Thousand Fragments

One of the report's most damning findings is how fragmentation is killing our chances of survival. Climate change, biodiversity loss, food insecurity, pollution—these aren't separate crises happening in parallel. They're interconnected facets of a single catastrophic breakdown in the relationship between human civilization and the planetary systems that sustain us.

Yet we continue to discuss them in silos. Environmental organizations talk about nature. Public health officials focus on disease. Agricultural experts worry about food security. Each group speaks its own language, uses its own data, appeals to its own audience.

"Current efforts are siloed by sector and discipline, limiting reach and effectiveness," the report warns. This fragmentation obscures a fundamental truth: protecting ecosystems is inseparable from protecting human health. They are the same thing.

From Abstract Data to Human Stories

Perhaps the most powerful insight in the report is its emphasis on lived experience. Abstract statistics about parts per million of atmospheric carbon or projected temperature increases by 2100 fail to move people. They're too distant, too technical, too divorced from everyday reality.

But stories of climate-related illness? A farmer watching crops fail for the third year running? Families forced to migrate from lands their ancestors inhabited for generations? Children losing cultural identities as traditional ways of life become impossible? These narratives make the crisis real and immediate.

"The challenge for planetary health communication is not a lack of evidence but the distance between that evidence and people's lived realities," explains Tina Purnat of the World Health Organization and European Public Health Association.

The report calls for planetary health advocates to bridge this gap—to connect the dots between global frameworks and local realities, helping communities see themselves within planetary health narratives rather than as distant observers of someone else's problem.

Youth Voices: The Untapped Power

Young people emerge in the report as both critical audience and powerful communicators. They're digital natives who understand instinctively how to craft compelling narratives for social media. They're the generation that will inherit the consequences of today's inaction. And they're increasingly angry, mobilized, and ready to demand change.

"Partnerships and co-design are imperative," insists Dr. Omnia El Omrani of Imperial College London and the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations. "Planetary health advocates must understand the experiences, knowledge and needs of young health professionals."

Supporting and amplifying youth voices, especially through digital platforms, isn't just good strategy—it's essential for transforming planetary health from an abstract concept into a movement that can mobilize the massive collective action needed for survival.

The AI Double-Edged Sword

Artificial intelligence looms over the entire landscape of planetary health communication like a storm cloud that could bring either devastating floods or life-giving rain. The report doesn't shy away from AI's darker potential: amplifying misinformation, deepening inequality, and giving powerful actors new tools to manipulate public opinion.

But it also recognizes AI's transformative potential. When used responsibly and ethically, AI can enhance accessibility, break through language barriers with real-time translation, and enable creative storytelling at scales previously impossible. The key word is "ethically"—AI must be deployed in ways that promote inclusion, build trust, and advance equity rather than undermining these values.

Two Strategies, One Movement

The report proposes a sophisticated two-pronged communication approach that recognizes different kinds of communication serve different essential functions.

Strategic communication aims to shape policy, influence decision-makers, and create enabling environments for systemic change. It's targeted, evidence-based, and designed to move the levers of power.

Democratic communication fosters open, community-level dialogue. It builds legitimacy from the ground up, ensures accountability, and creates the broad-based participation necessary for lasting change.

Far from being competing approaches, these strategies are mutually reinforcing. Top-down policy changes without grassroots support are fragile and easily reversed. Bottom-up movements without strategic policy engagement struggle to achieve structural transformation. Both are essential.

Six Principles for Survival

Underpinning all effective communication, the report identifies six guiding principles:

Equity and power-sharing — Marginalised communities most affected by planetary breakdown must actively shape the narrative, not be sidelined by elite voices

Narrative coherence — Telling planetary health as a single, integrated story rather than fragmented crises

Integration across groups and geographies — Connecting diverse stakeholders and bridging local-global divides

Sensitivity to risks — Acknowledging uncertainties and potential harms while maintaining urgency

Grounding in cultural and social context — Respecting different worldviews and values rather than imposing one-size-fits-all messaging

Awareness of ideological comfort zones — Challenging assumptions and reaching beyond echo chambers

"Applying these principles can transform planetary health from an abstract concept into a lived, actionable movement," the report argues.

From Knowledge to Action: The Path Forward

The report doesn't just diagnose the problem—it prescribes solutions. Accompanying the main analysis are nine detailed playbooks tailored for engaging specific stakeholder groups, from policymakers to business leaders to media professionals. There's also a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation framework to help organizations assess the effectiveness of their communication efforts.

"What's missing in the current information landscape is a clear translation of planetary health risks into sector-specific business risks and value pathways," notes Prof. Pervaiz K. Ahmed of Sunway University's Institute for Global Strategy and Competitiveness. The playbooks aim to fill precisely this gap—providing clear, actionable guidance for different audiences.

Johan Rockström of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research issues a rallying cry to his fellow scientists: "We in the science community have a responsibility to communicate science. Now is the time for science to step up."

But this isn't just a challenge for scientists. As Dr. Maria Chansky of PlushCare reminds us: "Persistence is key. The goal of planetary health is for the long haul. Communications need to be repeated over and over for real impact."

A Catalyst for Change

Jayalakshmi Shreedhar of Internews, which implemented the research, frames the stakes with crystalline clarity: "Communication is not just a tool; it is a catalyst for change. By speaking with courage, coherence, and compassion, and equipping all actors to tell inclusive stories, we can turn knowledge into action and ensure no voice is left behind."

This is the fundamental promise—and challenge—of the report. We already possess the knowledge needed to understand the crisis. We have the technological tools to communicate effectively. What we need now is the will to unify our message, coordinate our diverse voices, and speak with sufficient clarity and urgency to cut through the noise.

The planetary health community must align, the report insists. Effective, consistent, inclusive communication can mobilize the collective action needed to safeguard a liveable future for all.

The Clock Is Ticking

As the delegates at PHAM 2025 in Rotterdam absorb the implications of this landmark report, one truth stands out with brutal clarity: we don't have the luxury of more time. The communication gap isn't an academic problem to be studied leisurely. It's an urgent crisis that's costing lives right now and threatening the survival of future generations.

The science tells us what we need to know. The report tells us how to communicate it. What happens next depends on whether we can finally bridge the deadly gap between evidence and action—before it's too late.

The full report "Voices for Planetary Health: Leveraging AI, Media and Stakeholder Strengths for Effective Narratives to Advance Planetary Health" along with the companion playbooks and monitoring framework is now available for download.

This research was conceptually developed by the Sunway Centre for Planetary Health (SCPH) at Sunway University, implemented by Internews, and funded by InTent.