Power co-ops urged to shun politics

ELECTRIC cooperatives should disengage from politics in this year’s midterm elections and instead focus on improving their services, an energy advocacy group said on Thursday.

“Leading up to the 2025 midterm elections, we have observed that there have been questionable posts by electric cooperatives in the past couple of weeks that seemingly endorse a political candidate,” Nic Satur, Jr., chief advocate officer for Partners for Affordable and Reliable Energy, said in a statement.

“Electric cooperatives are mandated to serve consumers, not politicians. Their time, resources, and expertise should be dedicated to providing least-cost power — not to political campaigns,” he added.

The Philippines is set to hold its midterm elections on May 12, when Filipinos will pick more than 12 senators, 300 congressmen and thousands of local posts. 

Mr. Satur said some electric cooperatives had held assemblies with energy consumers where political candidates’ campaign materials were blatantly displayed. Such gatherings could’ve been used as an avenue to discuss on how to make power costs cheaper.

“These events must be a venue to discuss power rates and other electric cooperative concerns only,” he said.

“When leaders of electric cooperatives use their influence for political endorsements, it diverts

their attention from pressing energy concerns,” he added. “Consumers are left with higher rates, unreliable service, and mismanaged resources.” — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio