Malacañang said on Tuesday it would be up to the Energy Regulatory Commission to act on complaints against high bills that Manila Electric Company wants to collect from its consumers for the past two months while Metro Manila was under the enhanced community quarantine.

In a virtual press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque welcomed the ERC's move when it asked Meralco to explain.

"Well, this matter falls within the jurisdiction of the ERC. And we are happy that ERC acted swiftly even without the intervention from the Palace. So, we are waiting for the action of ERC because all of us are being charged with high bills right now," he said.

He expressed belief the ERC would order Meralco to do some adjustments.

"As I can see it, the ERC will come up with the guidelines and Meralco will implement it," he said.

Many Meralco customers have been complaining about the huge increase of their bills for March and April.

Meralco's public information chief Joe Zaldarriaga has explained that what was billed in May will be the actual amount plus adjustments from March and April.

Zaldarriaga said the March and April bills can be paid in four equal installments not earlier than May 30.

"We only used estimate using three month previous consumption plus the people have been staying in their homes, so there is higher usage. Problem with power is we don't see it while we consume the product without realizing that we have already consumed more. The meter will reflect the data and the consumption used," Zaldarriaga earlier explained to the Daily Manila Shimbun.

Meralco, the main power distributor in Metro Manila and nearby areas, has an estimated 6.6 million customers. Celerina Monte/DMS