“Fix the problem, not the blame.”
This was President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s guiding principle in dealing with the power crisis in Siquijor, as he stressed that solving the problem must take precedence over assigning fault.
“I’ve always approached problems like these with one thing in mind: your first reaction should be to fix the problem, not to assign blame,” Marcos said in the third installment of BBM Podcast Episode 2, aired Friday.
The President made the remarks while discussing the recent rotating brownouts in Siquijor province, which left thousands of households, businesses, and schools without power for several days.
“People keep asking, ‘Who should be held responsible?’ That can come later. But first, let’s solve the problem,” he added.
Marcos personally visited the island on 11 June to inspect the situation and ensure that concrete solutions were in motion.
A day after his visit, two generator sets were delivered by the Palawan Electric Cooperative (PALECO) to boost Siquijor’s power supply. By 14 June, the National Electrification Administration (NEA) had restored stable electricity.
The President gave authorities a six-month deadline to permanently resolve the island’s power supply issues, including a review of the operations of Siquijor Island Power Corporation (SIPCOR).
“What matters here is that you’re not punishing people. 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 said.
He added that a review is ongoing to determine SIPCOR’s compliance with its contract terms.