Presidential aspirant Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has promised to end the decade-long problem of power outages or brownouts in parts of the Bicol region if and when he gets elected to Malacañang.
Marcos Jr. said he will favor "natural sources of energy" over coal and fossil fuels because renewable sources of energy are always "available".
The presidential candidate commiserated with those who do not have access to electricity in the region by saying he "feels the intolerable hardship that the Bicolanos are experiencing because of the endless brownout, which had been prevalent in the region for almost a decade".
Marcos said that aside from the temporary solutions that are being implemented, a long-term solution that will lead to the eradication of the problem is also needed.
He then brought up the idea of wind farms, which according to him can become a viable source of energy.
Marcos Jr. lamented that the lack of electricity in some areas is one of the reasons why some investors have second thoughts about coming to he country.
"This has been a constant sticking point with all of our investors, not only foreign investors but even the local investors. Kapag tinatanong mo yung mga negosyante na gustong magtayo ng planta, gustong magtayo ng manufacturing ‘yun ang inirereklamo nila. Sinsasabi nila ang taas masyado ng kuryente nila, hindi kami maka-compete sa ibang lugar (If you ask the businessmen who want to build plants, they complain of electricity. They say our electricity cost is very high, so they cannot compete with others)," he said, adding that the matter can be solved through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP).