President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has stressed his core principle of “fix the problem, not the blame” when addressing national challenges, prioritizing immediate action over assigning fault.

In the third part of his “BBM Podcast Episode 2,” aired Friday, Marcos articulated his approach.

“Whenever I face problems like these, I always keep one thing in mind — your first reaction should be to fix the problem, not to assign blame,” said the President.

Marcos highlighted this philosophy in the context of the recent power crisis in Siquijor province, where residents experienced prolonged blackouts.

He also stressed that swift action should always precede finger-pointing.

“Because people keep asking, ‘Who should be held responsible for this? Who is at fault?’ Okay, that may come later — but let’s first fix the problem,” Marcos said.

His statement comes after he personally visited Siquijor Island to oversee efforts to resolve the power outages and ensure tangible results. The day after his visit, two generator sets arrived from the Palawan Electric Cooperative (PALECO) to boost the island’s power supply.

By 14 June, the National Electrification Administration (NEA) reported stable electricity had been restored in Siquijor, ending several days of rotating brownouts that affected thousands of families, businesses and schools.

Marcos has given authorities six months to permanently resolve the power supply issue, which includes a review of the Siquijor Island Power Corporation’s (SIPCOR) operations.

“What matters here is that you’re not punishing people,” the President said. “So, regardless of who made the mistake, that’s not our priority. Our priority is to deliver electricity to every household. And that’s what we did.”

Marcos confirmed that a review is ongoing to assess SIPCOR’s compliance with the terms of its contract.