Zubiri sounds alarm as Siargao experiences no power for 5 days now

FILE PHOTO: Sen. Juan Miguel “Migz” F. Zubiri presides over the Committee on economic affairs hearing (Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri on Friday sounded the alarm on the power situation in Siargao Island, citing complaints from locals that the island has had no electricity “for five days.”

“I have been receiving so many calls from people in Siargao who have complained that the whole island has had no electricity for five days now,” Zubiri, who chairs the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs, said in a statement.

Zubiri noted its adverse effects on tourism especially during the Christmas season “in what should be the peak season for tourism in the country.”

“This is killing the tourism economy of the island, and effectively cutting residents off from making any income, as the resorts, hotels and restaurants that they own or work in have to scale down or close down until the lights come back on,” Zubiri said.

The Siargao Electric Cooperative has attributed the island-wide blackout, which began on December 1, to a line fault in the submarine cable supplying electricity to the island, according to the senator.

To prevent this from happening again, Zubiri urged the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Electrification Administration (NEA) to find a long term solution with the issue.

“We know that the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines is already working with the local distributor to address the damaged cable behind this ongoing power failure, but I also want to urge the DOE and the NEA to find a long-term solution for the power problems in Siargao,” he said.

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While this outage is out of the ordinary, Zubiri noted that the island has a perennial power supply issue.

“I have experienced it myself, staying in Siargao,” Zubiri said. “You are trained to expect daily power outages. But this is untenable.”