LOS BAÑOS - President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on Tuesday said his administration is working to keep the prices of power steady, saying this is among his Christmas wishes this year.

This comes after the Court of Appeals issued a temporary restraining order between San Miguel and Meralco’s power-sharing agreement.

“Ang worry ko lang itong nangyari sa TRO na binigay ng CA doon sa PSA ng San Miguel atsaka Meralco, yun ang worry ko,” said Marcos when asked what his Christmas wish is aside from bringing down prices of rice to P20 per kilogram.

“If we could postpone and padahan-dahanin lang natin kung tataas naman. Dahan-dahanin ang pagtaas. Masyado nang mahirap – masyado nang nahirapan ang tao,” he added.

The request for a temporary relief stemmed from the ERC's decision in September to reject the joint petition of SPPC and Meralco for a power rate hike.

The Energy Regulatory Commission had said it would affect the power supply of at least 7 million residents in Metro Manila and nearby areas.

Meanwhile, Marcos would also want to see price adjustments this Christmas and the government is doing this by expanding the agriculture agency-led Kadiwa stalls.

“We did – we are going to widen the scope of the Kadiwa so that it is – it is now… The Kadiwa was always conducted sa LGU – at LGU level individually. Ngayon, ginawa na naming national program,” said Marcos.

“Sinama na natin lahat-lahat nung mga Kadiwa. I’m hoping that we can – we will see some adjustment in prices for Christmas and it looks like baka naman swertehin tayo,” he added.

• 7.5 million Meralco customers to be affected by TRO on power deal: ERC

A total of 14 "Kadiwa ng Pasko" stalls were opened on Nov. 16, 11 outlets of which were located in Metro Manila and one each in Tacloban City, Davao De Oro and Koronadal City, South Cotabato.

According to Press Undersecretary Cheloy Garafil, several more Kadiwa stores have opened in the capital region where cheaper produce is sold.

Prices of National Food Authority (NFA) rice is at P25 per kilogram, while sugar is at P70 per kilogram in the Kadiwa stalls.