Palace hits Villar power firm for breaking promise to deliver good service in Siquijor

‘Nangako ng magandang serbisyo pero pangakong napako,’ Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro says of the Villars’ Siquijor Island Power Corporation

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang has vowed to address the shortcomings of former senator Manny Villar’s power company on the small island of Siquijor in central Philippines which has been grappling with hours-long blackouts since early May. 

In a press conference on Friday, June 13, Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said the Villars’ Siquijor Island Power Corporation (SI Power or SIPCOR) promised to bring good service to Siquijor but has failed to deliver. 

SI Power is a subsidiary of the Villar-led Prime Asset Ventures Incorporated. SI Power operates the island’s diesel-fired power plant under a 25-year power supply agreement with Siquijor’s lone power distributor, Province of Siquijor Island Electric Cooperative (Prosielco), signed in 2015.

Siquijor has been getting electricity for only two to six hours a day since May 13. The power shortage has hurt Siquijor’s tourism, which drew 1.3 million visitors in 2024. Located in Central Visayas near Negros Oriental, Siquijor has many white sand beaches and clear waters.

“Ang SIPCOR, sa pamumuno ng Prime Assets Ventures Incorporated ni Mr. Manny Villar o ng pamilya Villar, ay may 20-year power supply contract sa Prosielco mula taong 2015 para magsilbing power supplier sa nasabing probinsiya — nangako ng magandang serbisyo pero pangakong napako,” Castro said.

(SIPCOR, led by Prime Assets Ventures Incorporated of Manny Villar or the Villar family, has a 20-year power supply contract with Prosielco since 2015 to serve as power supplier for the province — it promised good service but that promise has been broken.)

She enumerated the issues that SI Power should have addressed but allegedly failed to do so. These include: 

• very low fuel supply inventory
• delayed procurement and unavailability of spare parts
• unsynchronized preventive maintenance of diesel power facilities
• power plant operations with expired certificate of compliance
• rental generator sets operating without permits

Castro said SIPCOR sent a 1-megawatt rental generator set from its facility in Sta. Rosa, Laguna to Lazi town in Siquijor but she said the genset wasn’t functioning well.

“Sa ngayon, ang pinadalang genset ng SIPCOR ay may problema rin — hindi gumagana nang maayos kaya mag-i-issue ng show cause order ang ERC [Energy Regulatory Commission] sa SIPCOR,” she said.

(As of now, the genset that SIPCOR sent also has a problem — it’s not working well, so the ERC will issue a show cause order against SIPCOR.)

Castro said a genset of the National Electrification Administration (NEA) was being brought to Siquijor via a chartered landing craft tug. This is a 2-megawatt modular generator set from the Palawan Electric Cooperative, which is being lent to Prosielco as a “stop-gap measure” while SIPCOR is repairing its generation units, the NEA said.

She said the President has ordered that this genset be installed and commissioned before Sunday, June 15, to help address the power shortage in Siquijor. 

No power, no water

Siquijor’s power shortage has also affected the province’s water supply since many areas and establishments supply water via water pumps that need electricity to run. 

“Since usually nawawalan ng kuryente, there may be a lack of capacity to pump water in that distribution network. That’s why one of our solutions is to ask for a genset to be provided there dedicated for water operations. Kaya kahit mawalan ng kuryente doon, maa-assure mo naman iyong mga tao, may tubig naman kayo,” said Local Water Utilities Administrator (LWUA) Jose Moises Salonga in the same Palace briefing. 

He said the LWUA asked for a power generator from Dumaguete City in Negros Island that will be used to operate water pumps in Siquijor. This genset is separate from the genset of the NEA that will be used to provide temporary power supply.

Salonga said the LWUA had coordinated with the nearest water district, the Dumaguete City Water District, which has a joint venture with Metro Pacific Water.

“They have already agreed that they will lend a water lorry and a genset. Dadalhin na iyon sa Siquijor Island (It will be brought to Siquijor Island),” Salonga said.

He also said that the LWUA had identified a water source in Siquijor from which the lorry will obtain water for distribution to affected areas.

As a long-term solution, the LWUA approved last week a financial package that will be used to upgrade the Siquijor Water District, Salonga said. 

State of calamity

The provincial government of Siquijor declared a state of calamity last week over the power crisis so that it can access its calamity fund for 2025. 

Siquijor Governor Jake Vincent Villa said the provincial government had directed Prosielco to have a competitive bidding for a new power supplier that would replace SI Power. Villa said SI Power had failed to modernize the aging 6.4-megawatt plant it inherited from the state-owned National Power Corporation.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visited Siquijor on Wednesday, June 11, and ordered the NEA to find another power supplier to help meet Siquijor’s power needs.

Marcos said the solution must not be limited to diesel-fired power units or come solely from SI Power. He also said SI Power “has to come up with solutions” and “live up to its commitment.”

Siquijor’s actual daily power need is around 11 megawatts due to increased demand, but SI Power only provides 5 to 7 megawatts, according to provincial administrator Dale Tudtud. – with reports from Ambo Delilan/Rappler