That’s the gist of the latest Pulse Asia survey on a representative sample of 1,200 Filipinos nationwide, aged 18 years and above, regarding the issue on the controversial electricity surcharge.
In its second quarter’s "Ulat ng Bayan," conducted from July 13 to 27, Pulse Asia said its survey showed that seven out of 10 Filipinos (69 percent) want the PPA abolished.
On the other hand, six out of seven of those surveyed (86 percent) don’t believe that power firms will suffer losses if the government discontinues the PPA’s collection.
The survey asked respondents to choose three out of seven possible courses of action which the government could take regarding the issue of the PPA.
It also asked if they believe that power firms would suffer losses if the PPA were discontinued.
The survey has a 95 percent confidence level and a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
Regarding government action on the PPA, 69 percent of respondents want priority given to the total abolition of the PPA.
In second place is their desire for an investigation of the claims of power companies (61 percent) and an immediate suspension of the surcharge (51 percent).
It showed that 73 percent of the better-off Class ABC want an immediate investigation on the claims of power companies, making this the top recommendation among this group, followed by abolition of the PPA (67 percent).
The top recommendation among the relatively poorer Class D and the poorest Class E is the abolition of the PPA (70 percent and 66 percent), reflecting the sentiment of the country in general.
While the lower classes appear concerned about their budget, the upper class seem to focus on the validation of the charges.
Forty-five percent of respondents recommend the investigation and prosecution of government officials who had approved the contracts of independent power producers (IPPs), the collectors of PPA.
People in Metro Manila strongly feel that those involved in the signing of the controversial IPP contracts be charged in court and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Sixty-two percent of them also want the government to review the IPP contracts and appropriate charges be filed against those involved.
Thirty-one percent of respondents suggest that the PPA surcharge be reduced by more than 50 percent, while 21 percent are content with a cut of less than 50 percent.
Three percent of respondents feel no need for government action on the issue of PPA.
Only 14 percent of Filipinos buy the argument of power companies that removing the PPA would plunge them in the red.
Six out of seven Filipinos (86 percent) do not believe their claim of impending losses should be the PPA be removed from electric bills.
There are no significant differences in skepticism among the different socio-economic classes regarding the claims of power companies.
All of them exhibited the same level of skepticism that reflected the national average.
However, skepticism is highest in Metro Manila — 93 percent of residents do not believe that the IPPs would suffer losses if the PPA is removed and only seven percent buy the claims of power companies.
Prior awareness of the PPA was observed to be high among respondents as 86 percent of them already knew the issue.