Marcos says no takeover amid power outages in Visayas

WASHINGTON - President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said there would be no government takeover amid the frequent power outages in the Visayas region.

“No, I won’t take over anything. We’ll augment. Ganoon na lang. Kasi kulang eh (That's what we'll do. [The power supply is] not enough),” Marcos told reporters.

Marcos said the government is already looking into the situation, particularly on what is happening in Negros Island.

“Ang nagkaka-problema ngayon are Negros and Panay Island. The irony is Negros actually has a surplus of power supply,” Marcos said.

“The reason na nagkaka-brownout is because sa distribution system sa high tension wire sa ano… So that’s what we will have to look into,” he added.

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines has said it is looking into what caused the power outages that affected provinces on Panay Island.

The grid operator said it is “determining the root cause of these trippings to provide a universal solution to restore and stabilize the power supply chain.”

Earlier, the NGCP already warned of possible power interruptions this summer season as the Energy Regulatory Commission had denied its request for monthly extensions on ancillary services agreements. —KG, GMA Integrated News