To alleviate people’s suffering and mitigate losses from economic disruptions particularly in the tourism sector, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday ordered authorities to resolve the energy crisis in Siquijor within six months.

President Marcos warned private power provider Siquijor Island Power Corp. (SIPCOR) to deliver a permanent fix to the intermittent power outages in the island province within six months, saying failure is not an option.

“Hindi pupuwedeng hindi ibibigay. Hindi puwede. That just cannot be,” President Marcos said, when asked what would happen if SIPCOR still fails to deliver power.

“The victims of this situation are the ordinary people of Siquijor and they cannot go about their business. Iyon pa naman, Siquijor is growing so quickly at nagiging tourist destination na ang Siquijor. They are losing that opportunity to develop dahil nga dito sa kakulangan ng kuryente,” President Marcos said in an interview with the media.

The President said the deployment of two power generator sets from Palawan, which are expected to arrive in Siquijor on Wednesday night and Thursday, is only a temporary solution to the power crisis.

The President stressed that SIPCOR must fulfill its obligation to provide a consistent power supply to residents through the local electric cooperative.

According to President Marcos, National Electrification Administration (NEA) Chief Antonio Mariano Almeda has developed a framework outlining the priority actions needed to address the blackouts.

Meanwhile, with the temporary solution in place, the President said Siquijor Governor Jake Vincent Villa will have to explain to the residents every day if power outages continue.

“Hindi naman nila (residents) kasalanan. Nagbabayad na ang cooperative. Ang problema ‘yung provider. Kaya ‘yan ang kailangan nating ayusin,” President Marcos stressed. | PND