By Liza Soriano
MANILA — Senator Nancy Binay has expressed her concern about the recent Panay Island blackout, emphasizing its detrimental impact on tourism and local businesses.
Binay highlighted that the power outage underscores the country’s lag in developing energy solutions.
“The recent blackout in Western Visayas is a significant setback to our country’s development and serves as a stark reminder that we need to seriously explore long-term solutions to address electricity issues,” noted the senator.
“How can we promote tourism when we have such unreliable power supply? Unfortunately, most inconveniences are often felt at small resorts that haven’t invested in alternative power sources. Even a 30-minute power outage is already a nightmare for businesses. Imagine if it lasts for days,” Binay added.
Binay further pointed out that in the tourism industry, the direct and indirect economic consequences of brownouts are primarily absorbed by the hospitality sector.
“Truth be told, this issue is not unique to Western Visayas. Almost the entire Philippines has numerous tourism businesses recovering from the pandemic, and admittedly, many of them are ill-prepared to deal with the growing threat of power disruptions, especially those in island resorts,” she stated.
The blackout occurred across Panay, Guimaras, and Negros islands at approximately 2:27 pm on Tuesday due to the tripping of multiple power plants, resulting in the isolation of the three islands from the rest of the Visayas grid.
Mainstream media, meanwhile, reported on Friday the power outage issue has already been addressed, restored.
(el Amigo/MNM)
