MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has issued a stern warning against power players in Siquijor, saying he would stay on top of the issue to ensure full electricity restoration on the island before the year ends.
In his fourth State of the Nation Address on Monday, Marcos said he would not let what recently happened in Siquijor pass without action.
“Due to the widespread brownout, the province was even forced to declare a state of calamity. This caused great hardship for the residents there – tourism, businesses, hospitals and various services were all affected,” he said.
Citing a government probe, Marcos said they found expired permits and broken generators, which, according to him, were clearly neglected.
The President also criticized the concerned companies’ slow response to the issue and the lack of proper systems for purchasing fuel and equipment.
“We will ensure that facilities are immediately established to provide a long-term solution to the power issues. This must never happen again,” Marcos said.
“We will investigate the negligence that occurred there, as well as other similar cases across the country. The management of power companies must be improved, and refunds should be enforced if necessary,” he said.
Siquijor Island Power Corp. (Sipcor), the lone power supplier in the province, earlier said a series of corrective measures on its generation units were implemented to restore its full supply capacity.
A subsidiary of the Villar Group’s Prime Asset Ventures, Sipcor supplies power generation to the Province of Siquijor Electric Cooperative Inc., which distributes electricity on the island.
Siquijor was placed under a state of calamity due to crippling blackouts that interrupted water supply services and disrupted business operations.
This prompted the Energy Regulatory Commission to launch earlier this month a public inquiry into the power outages in the province.
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