The national government is implementing measures to address the power crisis affecting Siquijor island after President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. visited the province on Wednesday, June 11, to lead the inspection of the Siquijor Island Power Corporation (Sipcor) Power Plant in Barangay Candanay Sur, Siquijor town.

The provincial government had earlier declared a state of calamity due to the ongoing energy crisis on the island.

“Andito kami dahil napakalaki ng problema ang dinadanas ng ating mga kababayan dito sa Siquijor. Dahil nga sa kakulangan ng pag-provide ng kuryente at nagkaroon ng sitwasyon na ang hahaba ng blackout. Meron nga ibang mga residente na nagkaroon sila ng kuryente minsan dalawa hanggang limang oras lang,” Marcos said during the inspection.

The President said the national government is bringing generator sets to the island to ease the rotational power outages.

“They are losing that opportunity to develop dahil nga dito sa kakulangan ng kuryente, kaya itong ginawa natin, at least in the short-term, papunta tayo dito ng mga malalaking gensets, dalawang generator sets na galing Palawan,” Marcos said.

However, the President emphasized that the gensets are a temporary solution.

“But this is only a temporary solution. We need to find a long-term fix, and Sipcor must fulfill its commitment to provide reliable electricity through the cooperative,” he said.

The President has given Sipcor and the concerned national government agencies six months to come up with a long-term solution.

“That is the schedule that we have given ourselves. Six months. Six months from now, we will guarantee that we have a long-term solution, hindi na ‘tong patse-patse na napilitan nating gawin ngayon. So the government will do its part, Sipcor must do its part as well,” he said.

Prior to the inspection, Marcos directed the Department of Energy (DOE) to take immediate action on these persistent power issues and ordered a thorough investigation into the operations of Sipcor, the island’s power distributor.

Power gap

National Electrification Administration (NEA) Administrator Mariano C. Almeda said the national government will help Sipcor procure the necessary spare parts to restore electricity on Siquijor island.

DOE reported that despite Sipcor’s installed capacity of 11.580 megawatts (MW), only 8.816 MW is currently contracted to the Province of Siquijor Electric Cooperative (Prosielco).

This contracted capacity falls short of Siquijor’s current power demand of 10.51 MW, contributing to recurring power interruptions and highlighting the gap between supply and demand across the province.

As part of the government’s commitment to strengthen Siquijor’s power infrastructure, NEA continues to assess and implement viable solutions to improve the performance of power-generating units.

These efforts include the ratification of generator set purchases and other measures aimed at resolving the ongoing electricity challenges.

‘Overwhelming support’

Governor Jake Vincent Villa thanked the President for visiting Siquijor, calling it “historic” and meaningful in response to the island’s ongoing power crisis.

“It’s truly overwhelming. Never in our history have we had a sitting, elected President visit Siquijor specifically to solve a major problem,” said Villa.

Villa is thankful that the President has issued a directive to implement a long-term solution to the island’s electricity issues within six months.

“What’s good is that the provincial government won’t need to spend a single centavo — support is being provided by NEA and DOE. I am happy that we don’t need to shoulder any additional costs,” said Villa.

For Provincial Tourism officer-in-charge Dale Louis Tudtud, the President’s arrival on the island is a testament to the national government’s commitment to addressing the province’s power crisis.

“We are very thankful that President Marcos is leading the call to action because the people on the island really do rely on a stable power source for their day-to-day lives,” said Tudtud.

Tudtud said the power crisis continues to disrupt essential services, affecting water supply systems, communication networks, access to healthcare and the operations of both government offices and private businesses.

Janett Versanyi, a local winemaker, shared that frequent power outages have severely affected their operations.

She said she is grateful that the President has visited the province to address the power outages, which have affected her business’ capacity to meet their customers’ demand.

“The frequent brownouts have seriously affected my work. My laboratory is always dark, and I rely heavily on electricity for the bottling process. There are days when we only get power for one or two hours, and because of that, I can’t fulfill customer orders. It’s frustrating and disheartening. That’s why I’m truly thankful President Marcos came to the island — his visit gives us hope that something will finally be done,” said Varsanyi. (PIA-7 Siquijor)