PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has given authorities six months to resolve the ongoing power crisis in the Province of Siquijor, expressing dismay over what he described as an “unacceptable” situation on the island.
Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro relayed the President’s sentiments during a press briefing on Wednesday, June 11, 2025.
“Galit at dismayado ang ating Pangulo sa kondisyon po ng Siquijor (Our President is angry and dismayed by the condition of Siquijor),” Castro said.
“Hindi na po kasi biro ang kondisyon sa Siquijor, araw-araw may mga brownout at tumatagal sa higit na limang oras (The condition in Siquijor is no longer a joke; there are daily brownouts lasting more than five hours),” she added, describing the situation as critical.
Castro also outlined the effects of the power outages on the island’s population, saying that the lack of electricity has prevented young people from going to school, citizens from working and has disrupted livelihoods and healthcare services. The water supply has also been affected.
According to Castro, the crisis is due to a lack of power supply, outdated facilities and insufficient funds for repairs—all of which, she said, are unacceptable.
“Hindi katanggap-tanggap sa Pangulo ang mga dahilang ito, kaya agad pong naglabas ng direktiba ang Pangulo para tugunan ang problemang ito (These reasons are unacceptable to the President, so he immediately issued a directive to address the problem),” she said.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, Siquijor had a population of 103,395 as of the 2020 census.
Directives
To address the crisis, Marcos ordered the deployment of additional generator sets to alleviate power interruptions. These include two megawatts of modular generator sets from the National Electrification Administration (NEA) and the Palawan Electric Cooperative, along with rental generator sets from Siquijor Island Power Corp. (Sipcor).
NEA will lead the crisis response and will provide technical support and daily coordination with the local government of Siquijor and the power distributors.
Review
The President also directed a legal review and audit of the agreement between SIPCOR and the Province of Siquijor Electric Cooperative (Prosielco).
“Layunin nitong alamin ang naging pagkukulang, pananagutin ang dapat managot, at tiyakin na hindi na ito mauulit (Its purpose is to find out what shortcomings occurred, to hold those responsible accountable, and to ensure that this will not happen again),” Castro said.
Marcos has set a strict six-month timeline to resolve the power crisis in Siquijor.
“The President laid out a six-month timeline. This is what he calls the short-term solution period, where generator sets will be used for continuous supply while the long-term solution is being planned,” Castro said in Tagalog.
Within this period, a permanent power system is expected to be implemented. This includes the repair of existing power plants and transmission lines, and upgrades to fuel logistics and technical standards.
The Department of Energy (DOE) and NEA have been tasked with formulating a long-term energy plan tailored for Siquijor.
Castro also conveyed a warning from the President to Sipcor.
“Malinaw po ang babala ng Pangulo — Sipcor has to live up to its commitments. Kung hindi nila magawa, hindi pwedeng hindi maibigay. We are losing the opportunity to grow Siquijor (The President’s warning is clear — Sipcor has to live up to its commitments. If it cannot, then it must not be allowed to continue. We are losing the opportunity to grow Siquijor),” she said.
The government is also investigating Sipcor’s performance. The outcome may lead to the cancellation of its contract, depending on the results of the probe. / CDF