Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

2923

House Bill No.

Introduced by: Representatives Michael Angelo C. Rivera and Rodel M. Batocabe

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Philippine government shows its serious efforts to combat poverty through the continuing
expansion of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) the Philippine’s version of the
conditional cash transfer (CCT) program modeled by Latin American countries. Its objectives as
a program help fulfill the country’s commitment to meet the Millennium Development Goals,
namely (1) eradicate poverty and hunger (2) achieve universal primary education (3) promote
gender equality (4) reduce child mortality, and (5) improve maternal health.

The 2010 census of the National Census and Statistics Board (NSCB) on Philippine population
shows total population of 92,237,852 distributed in the National Capital Region (NCR) at
11,855,975 with Poverty Incidence of 3.8%;Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) at 1,616,867
with Poverty Incidence of 22.6%; locos Region at 4,748,372 with Poverty Incidence of 16.7%;
Cagayan Valley 3,229,163 with Poverty Incidence of 19.8%; Central Luzon’ 10,137,737 with
Poverty Incidence of 12.2%; Region IV-A CALABARZON at 12,609,803 with Poverty Incidence of
11.29; Region IV-B MIMAROPA at 2,744,671 with Poverty Incidence of 28.4%; Bicol Region at
5,420,411 with Poverty Incidence of 34.1%; Western Visayas at 7,102,438 with Poverty
Incidence of 24.7%; Central Visayas at 6,800,180 with Poverty Incidence of 28.8% ;Eastern
Visayas at 4,101,322 with Poverty Incidence at 37.296; Zamboanga Peninsula at 3,407,353 with
Poverty Incidence at 36.9%; Northern Mindanao at 4,297,323 with Poverty Incidence at 35.6%;
Davao Region at 4,468,563 with Poverty Incidence at 28.69%; SOCSARGEN at 4,109,571 with
Poverty Incidence at 37.5%; CARAGA at 2,429,224 with Poverty Incidence at 34.1%; ARMM at
3,256,140 with Poverty Incidence at 46.9%;and Filipinos working in Philippine Embassies
\Consulates and Missions abroad at 2,739.

NSCB Report shows 22.4% of the population is on poverty threshold. It is alarming to know that
we have in our midst 4,145,089 families classified as experiencing this poverty incidence. We


have 20 million poor Filipinos who are in dire need of assistance to light their homes and give
them the comfort of modern living. It is a well known fact that the presence of electricity in any

given area is an engine of growth and development.

All other programs of government will be difficult to find significant change if electricity is not
available. How can poor students study at night with no lights to illumine them? How can they
ever have any access to information on weather conditions and other news on current affairs if
there is no radio powered by electricity? How can we eradicate poverty if their income level will
not be able to sustain whatever the government has provided them as initial input. A
combination’ of good governance and institutions and policy pillars should find proper

combinations to be able to reach our commitment to the Millennium Development Goals.

The sitio electrification program is adopted by the current administration and provides a
promise of hope for a better life to our countrymen in far flung areas. The sitios are the “left
behind” areas of the energization thrust of current and previous administrations that boast of
9.2 million household connections nation-wide implemented thru the 110 Electric Cooperatives
under the National Electrification Administration (NEA). At 9.2 million household connections
translated to an average of 5 persons per household is estimated to have served half of the
current population of the Philippines. The rest of the population is served by private
distribution companies.

AS of June 2013, NEA Report shows a total of 23,475 sitios, Luzon has 6,382 sitios energized,
Visayas with 5,638 sitios and Mindanao with the largest share at 11,407 sitios energized. By
year 2015, it is the target of the NEA to complete 33,000 sitios and this translates to over a
million Filipinos living in the hinterlands who will start to live a new life because electricity will
be there to. make a big difference in their daily living. There are challenges met by
implementers of this sitio electrification program such as cross country terrain, and the absence
of road network in certain areas and right of way problems. The archipelagic nature of the
country separates sitios by bodies of water and bancas are used as transportation mode in the
hauling of materials to reach difficult areas. The government is indeed vent on addressing
poverty but it will be at its best if it will establish a low income home energy assistance program
to sustain whatever infrastructure or poverty alleviation program it has put in place. To be able
to keep the initiative to move forward and sustain the impetus of growth, the poorest of the
poor should be given financial assistance by way of a Php 500 cash transfer to the electric
distribution utilities thru the DOE. The NEA thru the 110 ECs nation-wide in coordination with
the DSWD should be able to come up with a system of identifying the beneficiaries who shall be
entitled to this Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). This program can also


be applied in urban centers where there are low-income home energy consumers. A
mechanism for private distribution companies’ participation to the LIHEAP should be similarly
established, This amount shall be claimed as a tax credit by the private distribution company as
a cooperator to this program, This program is more than just a cash grant. It breaks the cycle of
intergenerational poverty through investments in human capital. With the LIHEAP program,
participants will have more funds to spend for food and other basic necessities and the country
will meet its Millennium Development Goals of poverty reduction, health, education and

maternal and child welfare and gender equality.

In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly requested.

Wa 7
Michael Angelo C. Rivera ROUGLM

Representative Representative
I-CARE Party List ‘AKO BICOL Party List


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Quezon City
SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

2923

House Bill No.

— Eee

Introduced by Representatives Michael Angelo C. Rivera and Rodel M. Batocabe

AN ACT CREATING THE LOW- INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (LIHEAP) TO
PROMOTE HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled

Section1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the Low- Income Home Energy
Assistance Program (LIHEAP) or Pantawid Kuryente Program of 2013

Section 2. Declaration of National Policy. - It is hereby declared to be the national policy of
the State to pursue inclusive growth with the end in view of achieving significant reduction in
poverty, Inclusive growth shall mean economic growth thru generation of productive
employment, access to economic opportunities, provision of social protection, dispersal of the
benefits of economic development and provision of safety nets to address the welfare of the
vulnerable and the needy.

Section 3. Definition. - As used in this Act, the following words or terms shall have the

following meanings, unless provided otherwise

(a) LIHEAP- Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program

(b) Program refers to the national poverty reduction strategy that provides cash transfer
to qualified beneficiaries to defray the cost of electricity consumed at home;

{c) Low Income Home Energy Consumers or poor consumers refer to households
whose income falls below the poverty threshold as defined by the NEDA and the
National Census Statistics Board (NSCB). In this Act the poor consumers shall be
identified by using the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction
(NHTS-PR)


{d) Consumers- refers to members of electric cooperatives or beneficiaries of sitio

electrification program of NEA or users whose electricity comes from private

distribution providers;

(e) Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (HTS-PR) refers to a system of
identifying the poor using established parameters and data generated by the NCSB and
adopted by the national government agencies and being utilized by the DSWD in its current
Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Program.

(e) Qualified Low- Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)Beneficiaries- refers to
households identified by the DOE/DSWD as the monthly cash transfer recipients of the

Pantawid Kuryente Program;

(g)DOE- Department of Energy
(b)NEA- National Electrification Administration

(DSWD- Department of Social Welfare and Development

() DOF- Department of Finance

(k) Food Threshold- the minimum income required by an individual to meet his/her
basic food needs and satisfy the nutritional requirements set by the food and
Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) while remaining economically and socially

productive.

() Poverty Threshold-similar concept of food threshold but incorporates basic non-
food needs such a clothing, housing, health, education, transportation and utility
expenses ice, electricity and water.

Section 4. The Department of Energy. -'The Department of Energy created under Republic
Act No.7638 is the lead agency to carry out the provisions of this Act. All other attached
agencies and instrumentalities under the DOE shall be utilized for policy and program

administration.

Section 5. The National Electrification Administration (NEA).-The NEA thru the electric
cooperatives shall act as program administrator of LINEAP-Electric Cooperatives Beneficiaries
(b) coordinate with the DSWD on the accreditation of LIHEAP Beneficiaries (c) shall provide
timely reports on the status of LIHEAP beneficiaries and receive fund releases from the DOE

and distribute to ECs.


Section 6. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) created under
Republic Act No. E.0. 292, Revised Administrative Code of 1987 shall {a) provide rules and
guidelines for accreditation of LIHEAP Beneficiaries (b) provide semi-annual status report of
poverty incidence nation-wide and (c) shall accredit LIHEAP beneficiaries served by private

distribution companies.

Section 7. The Department of Finance (DOF) shall provide the mechanism wherein private
distribution companies will be allowed tax credit for LIHEAP beneficiaries whose bill shall be
charged by distribution companies. Monthly report shall be provided by private distribution

companies on the availment of accredited LIHEAP Beneficiaries.

Section 8. Selection of Qualified Beneficlarles.- The Department of Energy thru the NEA with the
assistance of the Department of Social Welfare and Development shall select qualified household
beneficiaries using the NHTS-PR . In addition, the following criteria shall also be used as basis in the
selection of qualified beneficiaries:

(a) Households that need special protection such as those with disabilities;
(b) Households with senior citizens who are not receiving any pensions from government or

agencies that provide financial assistance of whatever nature;

Section 9. Local Verification Committee.- A Local Verification Committee shall be created in every
municipality or city composed of (3) local government unit representatives, an accredited Social
Worker or barangay social worker, a representative from an accredited civil society organization and
the local municipal superintendent or principal of the Department of Education or the local district
representative from the Electric Cooperative in the area.

‘The Committee shall ensure that the list of beneficiaries satisfies the eligibility requirements set
forth under this Act.

Section 10, Cash Transfer. Each qualified LIHEAP - beneficiary is entitled to Five Hundred Pesos (Php
500.00) to defray the electricity bill every month. The DOE will provide funds to the electric cooperative
in the area where service connection is provided. In the case of private distribution companies,
accreditation of beneficiary Is thru the DSWD and the Five Hundred Pesos (Php 500.00) shall be claimed
by the private distribution company as a tax credit. A roster of beneficiaries shall be provided by the
DSWD to the distribution companies and Identification cards shall be issued by the DWSD to the
beneficiaries. A mechanism to limit the Five Hundred Pesos cash transfer or tax credit of the distribution
company shall be established. Any amount in excess of Five Hundred Pesos in electric bill shall be pald
by the beneficiary. Consistent increase in the amount of Five Hundred Pesos in the beneficiaries’
electric bill may be ground for suspension of this assistance,


Section 11, Perlodic Assessment of Cash Transfer. The amount indicated in Section 10 shall be paid
directly to the Electric Cooperatives to the account of the LIHEAP beneficiary and tax credit to private
distribution companies shall be made possible through the Department of Finance.

Section 12. Five Year Maxlmum Limit. Each qualified beneficiary shall be entitled to this assistance
program for five (5) years.

Section 13% Lead Agency. The Department of Energy thru the National Electrification Administration
shall be the lead agency and shall serve as the central planning, coordinating, implementing and
monitoring body of the program.

In the implementation of this Act, the Department shall have the following functions:

(a) Select and use an appropriate , effective and cost efficient method devised for the purpose of
identifying and electing qualified household beneficiaries;

(b) Identify and select the target household beneficiaries on the basis of a uniform, objective and
transparent selection process;

(c) Coordinate with different national and local agencies to maintain and update objective poverty
maps which will be checked, and cross- checked periodically for duplication and inaccurate
information;

(d) Formulate an implementing guidelines for the enforcement of this Act;

(e) Submit an annual report to the Congressional Oversight Committee all aspects of operations,
financial status and other relevant data;

(f) Perform such other functions as may be necessary or incidental to the proper enforcement of
the statutory commitments under this Act.

Section 14, Grievance Committee. A Grievance Committee shall be likewise created to accept
complaints anid grievances that may arise within the territorial jurisdictions, conduct investigations In

specific cases and dispose cases filed in connections thereto.

Section 15.- Independent Monitoring Committee. An independent monitoring committee at the
municipal, regional, national level composed of representatives from the private sector and Civil Society
Organizations (CSOs) shall be created, This Independent committee shall provide feedback to the
Department for proper action.

Section 16,- Annual Appropriations, The Secretary of the Department of Energy shall include in the
Department’s program the implementation of this Act and shall be included in the General
Appropriations Act. An amount equivalent to Twenty Four Billion (Php 24,000,000,000.00) Pesos shall
be appropriated annually for this program.

Section 17.- Penalty.- Any person, public or private, whether acting in conspiracy with public officials,

who, by act or omission, inserts or allows the insertion of date or false information or who diverts from


what ought to be found in the registry, with the view of altering the fact, or aiding in the grant of this
assistance to qualified-beneficiaries shall be penalized with imprisonment of not less ‘than six (6) months
but not more:than one (1) year, or a fine not less than Twenty Thousand (Php 20,000.00) Pesos but not
more than Fifty Thousand (Php 50,000.00) Pesos, or both imprisonment and fine at the discretion of the
Court.

‘Administrative sanctions shall be without prejudice to prosecution in the proper courts.

Section 18. Separability Clause. - If for any cause, any part of this Act is declared

unconstitutional, the rest of the provisions shall remain in force and effect.

Secton 19. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after the publication

in the Official Gazette or In at least two (2) national newspaper of general circulation.

Approved.

Wha—

MICHAEL ANGELO C.RIVERA
Representative
I-CARE Party List AKO BICOL Party List