ANTIQUE — The Provincial Government of Antique has earmarked P600 million for the continued implementation of its Provincial Electric Power Subsidy (PEPS) program in Calendar Year 2026.
The funding will be sourced from the province’s national wealth shares, according to Governor Paolo Javier, who reiterated his administration’s commitment to ensuring that public funds directly benefit Antiqueños.
“As promised, Antiqueños will continue to feel the benefits of our national wealth shares. PEPS is our commitment to make electricity more affordable and to ensure that public funds translate into real, everyday relief for our households,” Javier said.
Under PEPS, qualified residential consumers automatically receive a P500 deduction from their monthly electricity bills.
Records from the Office of the Provincial Accountant show that from August to December 2025 alone, the provincial government paid a total of P227,061,969.40 to the Antique Electric Cooperative, Inc. (ANTECO) and the Aklan Electric Cooperative, Inc. (AKELCO).
Of the amount, P205,689,861.11 was released to ANTECO, while P21,372,108.29 was paid to AKELCO. During the five-month period, the program benefited a monthly average of 103,000 households under ANTECO and 11,816 households under AKELCO.
Meanwhile, ANTECO has encouraged consumers to update their account information following complaints from members who reported not receiving the subsidy since August or whose subsidy was initially applied but later discontinued.
Carla Jean Ybera, ANTECO Finance Services Department manager, explained that discrepancies mainly stem from multiple account holders sharing identical first and last names. Under PEPS policy, when duplicate names appear in the system, the subsidy is applied to the account with the higher bill.
Ybera said earlier records only reflected consumers’ first and last names, making verification difficult without complete details and valid identification.
To address the issue, consumers are advised to update their records by including their full middle name in their account information. The same policy applies to residential consumers maintaining accounts with both ANTECO and AKELCO. If accounts are registered under the same name in both cooperatives, the subsidy will be credited to the account with the higher monthly bill.
Affected account holders are urged to visit the ANTECO main office or the nearest sub-office and present valid IDs to facilitate proper verification and ensure continued inclusion in the subsidy program./PN
