UPDATE, 12 November, 12:58 p.m.: In a noon press conference, Meralco has said that as of 10 a.m. today, the number of affected customers has decreased to 2.5 million. We have updated the headline to reflect this.
Original story follows:
IF you have electricity at the moment, it would be best to charge all your devices now. And for those without electricity, be prepared to dig in for the long haul.
In an interview with dzBB, Meralco spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga said, "As of 5 a.m. aabot sa 3.8 million Meralco customers ang apektado at medyo malawak ang area."
When asked for a timeframe about the restoration of power, Zaldarriaga could not say.
“Sa tingin ko matatagalan pa," he said. “It might take some time so humihingi po tayo ng pang-unawa.”
He said that extensive damage wrought by the storm has downed power lines.
“We are exerting all efforts to restore power soonest despite the constraints we are currently facing,” said Zaldarriaga to Manila Bulletin. "Meralco will continue to conduct restoration efforts round-the-clock in order to address each and every customer who still have no power supply.”
The power distribution company said that the 3.8 million customers represent 56 percent of the userbase.
In an article now going viral, Esquire Philippines appealed to readers to check their privilege and not demand that Meralco fix their lines immediately.
“The combination of electricity and water could potentially kill them. These linemen risk their lives going up electric poles when the sky is clear, what more is at risk during a typhoon? Meralco places value on the lives of their workers, unlike those blaming them for power outages,” wrote Anri Ichimura for the publication.
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