Maharlika Investment Corp.’s (MIC) ₱19.7-billion acquisition play for a 20 percent stake in Synergy Grid and Development Philippines Inc. (SGP), the holding gateway to transmission firm National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), failed to close on the original schedule. This failure is now dragging a mid-year target into a vague, slipping timeline that already stretches into next year.

While government officials—Energy Secretary Sharon Garin included—just call it a “delay,” the industry whispers suggest a different narrative: that the NGCP-linked shares aren’t waiting; they might be ‘quietly walking’ into the grip of another prospective buyer.

According to the energy secretary, the financial closing is gridlocked simply because MIC is still missing critical documents that it has been requesting from NGCP.

But right now, it’s a roulette wheel of speculation as to who will get the shares next, or has a covert offer already been slid across the table of the chosen one?

Speculation is likewise heating up that a very influential tycoon, who is already well-entrenched in the energy sector, may now be circling the country’s transmission crown jewel.

With the delay now open-ended and attributed merely to added documents and prolonged due diligence, the industry is left asking: who exactly is undertaking this due diligence now on SGP or NGCP?

Questions are similarly mounting over whether the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) will be amended soon to erase the cross-ownership ban provision between transmission and generation—primarily if the SGP shares would land into the hands of a private buyer already holding power plant portfolios.

Whether the SGP shares end up with a new buyer or not, relevant industry stakeholders are left grappling with more questions than answers at this point, as rumors are actually intensifying about a potential taker should MIC fail to close the deal.

In a high-profile announcement before President Marcos in January, MIC revealed its 20 percent preferred shares purchase in SGP—and that will enable it to claim four board seats across SGP and NGCP once the transaction is sealed and delivered.

However, what was meant to close in 90 to 180 days now drags into uncertainty under the supposed weight of regulatory scrutiny and exhaustive due diligence. So, let’s wait and see!

At the peak of the NGCP ownership storm last year, reports also surfaced that the shareholdings of the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), the foreign partner of NGCP in its 25-year concession arrangement with the Philippine government, were also potentially up for grabs.

Earlier speculation pegged MIC’s targeted shares purchase at 30 percent, possibly including a 10 percent slice from the Chinese partner, but SGCC allegedly refused any sell-down pressure. Had that happened, it would have dragged the Philippine government into a tense arbitration battle.

A top energy official hinted that ‘corporate gymnastics’ in NGCP’s shareholdings may have boosted SGCC’s stake to more than 40 percent; and that loophole is now under the government’s microscope, as officials look for leverage to eventually force China to divest part of its NGCP equity.

As a public utility, NGCP’s foreign ownership is constitutionally capped at 40 percent, a limit enshrined in the 1987 Philippine Constitution and echoed in the EPIRA.

From late last year into early 2025, State Grid’s NGCP stake was under fierce Congressional scrutiny, but MIC’s entry somehow eased the heat, giving the company and its shareholders a rare moment of relief.

Lawmakers have been warning then that Chinese control of the Philippine power grid could spark blackouts and cybersecurity risks, and that fueled mounting calls then for a full technical audit on NGCP’s operations.

But then again, as the MIC acquisition is still stalled, the entire industry is left wondering if NGCP will once again be swept into an avalanche of controversies.

On a separate issue, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has recently frozen seven bank accounts of Sunwest Water and Electric Co. (SUWECO) and its affiliate Suweco Tablas Energy Corp., amid an ongoing probe into the DPWH flood control corruption anomaly. Both companies are tied to embattled former Congressman Zaldy Co.

As reported in the media, the AMLC escalated its crackdown in November 2025, freezing close to ₱12 billion in assets—spanning bank accounts, insurance holdings, as well as air assets that are linked to the investigation.

Nevertheless, the freeze order directly cripples SUWECO’s ability to fuel its power generation operations, mainly choking diesel purchases for its plants. And in this escalating power struggle, consumers are ending up to be the silent victims.

Being the main power provider, SUWECO’s shrinking diesel reserves (that may only last until Dec. 15 this year) threaten to plunge Catanduanes and Tablas into darkness, and that could turn what should be festive Christmas celebrations into blackout nightmares.

Local officials and energy agencies—including the Department of Energy (DOE), Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), National Electrification Administration (NEA), and National Power Corporation (NPC)—are scrambling for an immediate fix—from a temporary NPC takeover as well as plans for deployment of rental generators to avert widespread service interruptions in the areas being served by SUWECO.

ERC Chairman Francis Saturnino Juan primarily revealed that remedial measures are underway—including planned direct fuel payments to suppliers to ensure residents of Catanduanes and Tablas aren’t left in the dark, especially during the Christmas season; while more permanent solutions are still being sorted.

It goes without saying that as SUWECO gets stymied by money laundering hurdles, collateral damage is still painfully on the people: hence, the urgency is palpable: energy officials must act fast to shield affected consumers from looming blackouts.