President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. speaks at the 503rd anniversary of the Battle of Mactan in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Photo from an RTVM video posted on Facebook)
MANILA, Philippines — The government has come up with plans to bring down power rates, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Monday in an ambush interview in Cotabato.
He was asked how the government was handling the energy crisis.
“We have plans and strategies so that the electricity prices do not increase — at least for now, in this crisis time,” Marcos said, speaking partly in Filipino.
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Marcos also reiterated that the ongoing electricity crisis was not manmade.
“No. It definitely is not an artificial crisis because the power systems are really overloaded. Our consumption suddenly went up really… because it’s very hot,” said Marcos.
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Marcos said the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines had been instructed to establish more transmission lines and lay down submarine cables.
“This should have been done a long time ago. Others seem to have forgotten it. We have just… we are catching up only now,” he said.