SIQUIJOR’s provincial government is optimistic that the Marcos administration will finally solve the power crisis on the island once a new supplier is named, an official said Wednesday, September 3, 2025.
In an interview, lawyer Dale Tudtud, chief of staff of Governor Jake Villa and concurrent provincial tourism officer, told the Philippine News Agency that it does not matter which power generation firm bags the contract, so long as the power outages are finally resolved.
“The only thing we really care about is that the government will provide the best services to the people of Siquijor, regardless of who is handling it,” Tudtud said.
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) cancelled last week Siquijor Power Corp.’s (SIPCOR) provisional authority to operate due to poor service and the alleged failure to address the incessant power outages in the province.
Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said TotalPower, Inc. signed an Emergency Power Supply Agreement last week with the distribution utility PROSIELCO (Province of Siquijor Electric Cooperative, Inc.) to supply 15.3 megawatts in the island province.
Tudtud said they hope that TotalPower and, eventually, the new supplier would be able to provide robust power in Siquijor.
“We cannot have a repeat of what happened in the past few months, where essential services, basic necessities, and the tourism industry were disrupted because electricity could not be provided,” he said.
Tudtud said they are thankful to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for taking swift action to resolve the power crisis of a small island like Siquijor.
Marcos visited SIPCOR’s facility in Siquijor on June 11 and ordered the National Electrification Administration and the Department of Energy to find short- and long-term solutions to the worsening power crisis there.
The provincial government had declared a state of emergency due to continuous brownouts across the island.
Tudtud said the temporary solution of bringing in power generator sets from Palawan did not solve the power outages.
Garin said SIPCOR’s provisional authority to operate came after numerous violations of operational and regulatory compliance requirements. (PNA)