Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV has launched a dual-front legislative investigation to protect the ordinary Filipinos from skyrocketting electricity cost and and secure the future and safety of the youth.
With consumer frustration reaching a boiling point over their utility bills and a massive classroom shortage, he is demanding urgent answers regarding the sudden spike in electricity rates and the apparent stall in deploying billions of pesos earmarked for safe school buildings.
As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Aquino expressed deep frustration following his recent inspections of local public schools, including Kasiglahan Village National High School and Kasiglahan Elementary School in Montalban, Rizal. Despite being constructed as recently as 2013, two major school buildings there were declared completely structurally unsafe due to dangerous cracks in the classrooms and hallways that forced student population of over 13,000 into cramped multi-shift class schedules.
”Hahanapin namin kung sino yung nagbuo niyan because wala pang 6 na taon, di mo na magagamit. Di naman pwede yon, di ba? Hold up yun. Parang na hold up tayo dun, di ba? 7 months na po rainy season na, pero nais ho natin makita na yung pondong ito magamit pa rin para sa classrooms, para sa mga kabataan,” he said.
What makes the infrastructural crisis harder to acccept is the mystery surrounding the state’s budget rollout.
Headed into the peak of the heavy rainy season, Aquino highlighted that the hard-fought P67-billion allocation secured under the 2026 national budget for the Classroom-building Acceleration Program remains underutilized by implementing agencies.
To get to the bottom of the multi-billion-peso bottleneck, he has officially slated a comprehensive committee inquiry.
”Nakita namin may building po dito, condemned na, di na po pwedeng magamit. Yung classrooms na to, mahalaga na ma-repair o di kaya, mag-iba na lang makagawa ng bago. Ito po yung rason kung bakit po kami mag hi-hearing sa Thursday tungkol po sa Classroom-Building Acceleration Program para malaman natin san na ba na punta yung 67 billion pesos sa nakalaan para sa mga classroom,” he explained.
Beyond structural deficits in education, he is simultaneously taking on the energy sector to shield everyday families from devastating “bill shocks.”
Aquino filed Senate Resolution No. 508 following a series of rate increases that saw standard residential electricity tariffs climb heavily. The measure demands a sweeping investigation into why Filipino consumers bear one of the heaviest energy burdens in the region.
According to global energy metrics, the Philippines currently ranks second only to Singapore for the highest residential electricity costs across Southeast Asia, with families paying between P11 to P12.95 per kilowatt-hour.
Aquino underscored that these energy bills do not just pinch household pockets but rather aggressively derail economic growth.
High electricity costs forced regular families to divert precious funds away from basic necessities like nutritious food, life-saving medicine and education. Furthermore, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are left struggling to expand operations or generate new, stable jobs due to prohibitive overhead expenses.
To provide immediate, tangible relief alongside the investigation, Aquino is pushing for “PanukalangBatas para sa Abot-Kayang Pamumuhay ”(Affordable Living Agenda), which includes the Kuryenteng Walang VAT Bill aimed at entirely stripping the 12% Value-Added Tax off electricity consumption.
Despite the grueling demands of an ongoing impeachment trial in the Senate, Aquino assured the public that vital economic and consumer protection reforms must be the top priority.
“Hindi naman ‘yan just because impeachment doesn’t mean that these problems stop. In fact, tuloy-tuloy ‘yung mga problemang ito. So tuloy-tuloy rin dapat ‘yung mga solusyon at ‘yung mga repormang kailangan gawin,” he stressed.
The Department of Energy (DOE), led by Secretary Sharon Garin, voiced strong support for the legislative probe. Garin acknowledged the inquiry as a vital mechanism to monitor and police power distributors, identify critical policy gaps and ultimately safeguard consumer rights.
