Meralco’s slogan is “Ang Liwanag ng Bukas” (“The Light of Tomorrow,” according to my somewhat sketchy grasp of the Tagalog language), but it may as well be “Ang Liwanag ng Conspiracy,” or “Ang Liwanag ng We Think the Government and Citizens of the Philippines are Stupid” given the astonishing scam the electric distributor has apparently tried to perpetrate with the cooperation of Aboitiz Power subsidiary Therma Mobile (TMO).

Of course, the conspiratorial power supplier and distributor would not have been able to even make the attempt if they had not been handed the opportunity by an Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) that was either complicit in their electric pricing collusion or ignorant of the consequences of its approval of the Power Supply Agreement between the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and TMO.