Siquijor placed under state of calamity as crippling blackouts drag on

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Siquijor Governor Jake Vincent Villa wants a new power provider to replace the Villar group

SIQUIJOR, Philippines – The provincial government of Siquijor has declared a state of calamity following nearly a month of crippling daily power outages that have disrupted life, hammered businesses, and threatened the island’s tourism-driven economy.

Siquijor Governor Jake Vincent Villa announced the declaration on Thursday, June 5, saying the provincial board unanimously approved it two days earlier. The move will give the province access to its million calamity fund for 2025.

An initial P2 million from the fund has been allocated to purchase a two-megawatt generator from Palawan. Villa said the generator is expected to arrive within two to three weeks and will be temporarily lent to the Siquijor Electric Cooperative (Prosielco), the island’s lone power distributor.

“But this is on a temporary basis only,” Villa said.

Presently, electricity is available in Siquijor, San Juan, and Larena for five hours a day, typically from 5 pm to 10 pm. In Lazi, Maria, and Enrique Villanueva, supply is limited to just two hours daily.

Villa said the provincial government has directed Prosielco to launch an immediate competitive bidding for a new power supplier to replace SI-Power, a diesel-based generation company linked to the Villar business group. Formerly known as Siquijor Island Power Corporation (Sipcor),

The Villar-backed SI-Power holds a 25-year contract signed in 2015 to serve as the island’s sole off-grid generator.

The firm operates a 6.464-megawatt plant but has failed to deliver on its promise to modernize the aging system it inherited from the state-owned National Power Corporation, Villa said.

While the contract still has 15 years remaining, Villa acknowledged legal challenges to termination but said the firm had lost public trust.

He said, “Customers (power consumers) are no longer satisfied – that’s it!”

Villa expressed frustration over what he described as unmet commitments from the power provider and from Senator Mark Villar, who supposedly had personally assured him that upgrades were coming. The senator is a member of the family whose many business interests include power-generation in Siquijor.

Villa warned that if Prosielco fails to initiate a new bidding process, the provincial government may invoke its constitutional authority to temporarily take over the cooperative.

He said such a move would be the last resort, adding that the local government was still counting on Prosielco to resolve the situation. He also sought help from acting Energy Secretary Sharon Garin.

SIQUIJOR PORT. A fast craft from Bohol unloads passengers, some tourists who continue to visit Siquijor despite prolonged power outages. Ambo Delilan/Rappler

The blackouts have affected all sectors. Businesses, from roadside stalls to tourism-reliant hotels, have reported losses, with many forced to turn away guests due to the high cost of running diesel generators nearly nonstop.

Some hotels and inns have stopped accepting tourists. In 2024, Siquijor recorded 1.3 million tourist arrivals, a major economic driver. Now, the island’s four-year-old airport is also at risk of reduced operations due to unreliable electricity.

“This could somehow affect our target growth rate,” Villa said. “Thus, we will not allow this.”

The blackout comes months after Siquijor was reclassified from a fifth- to a third-class province by the Department of Finance. Its National Tax Allocation surged to P1.9 billion in 2024.

BRIEF NIGHTLIFE. People, many of them tourists, gather at the ‘Bridge’ in Barangay Lala-o, San Juan, Siquijor, before the nightlife winds down by 10 pm due to daily 19-hour blackouts. Ambo Delilan/Rappler

Frustration was echoed by residents and small business owners. Glenn Garcia, a tricycle driver from Barangay Poblacion, said the outages have slashed his earnings as tourists limit movement due to poor communications and transport.

Randy Miriones, a food and drink vendor in San Juan, said his income has dropped. “Most are afraid now because power is just available in Lala-o from 5 pm to 10 pm. Many opted to stay at home than to go out,” he said.

Lala-o is a commercial and tourism center in San Juan, known for its nightlife before the outages hit. – Rappler.com