GRACE POE ON MORATORIUM ON DELAYED BILLS PAYMENT:

In the light of the public health crisis brought about by COVID-19, we are appealing to corporations, banks, and private and government financial institutions to implement a moratorium on the imposition of penalties or similar charges on delayed payment of bills and other obligations.

We seek the compassion and goodwill of companies in making sure that there will be no service interruption, disconnections or penalties as a result of the unwanted delay in payment.

Everyone wants to settle his obligations on time.

However, this pandemic has brought unintended consequences that have affected the financial condition of the public, especially workers who are on no work-no pay scheme.

For those who have the means to pay, the last thing we want to see are kilometric queues in banks and payment centers beating the closing time in paying their bills.

This scenario would run counter to our efforts to implement social distancing and to as much as possible keep the people in their homes to avoid the exposure to the disease.

We urge concerned government agencies to flesh out the details of this proposed measure, such as the reasonable time when payments can be accommodated.

As the nation continues to grapple with the coronavirus, we will continue to seek for ways to ease the burden on the people and to ensure that their general welfare is protected.