Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda convened national agencies, utilities, and telecom providers to diagnose Antique and Aklan’s recurring electricity and internet gaps, securing commitments for coordinated upgrades and stressing that reliable power and connectivity are vital to inclusive development.

During a multi-sector briefing at the Senate on Thursday, May 28, Legarda carefully led national agencies, power stakeholders, electric cooperatives, telecommunications providers, and local governments in identifying the root causes of recurring service issues in the two provinces, from power supply and transmission constraints to distribution upgrades, last-mile electrification, internet deployment, and the long-term maintenance of completed projects.

Held in coordination with the Aklan Information Communications and Technology Council, the briefing gathered the National Electrification Administration (NEA), the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), the Antique and Aklan Electric Cooperatives, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), telecommunications providers, and local stakeholders.

“We know how electricity and internet affect daily life. They affect children studying, small businesses earning, and tourists visiting our provinces. These two are also connected because internet service depends heavily on reliable power. That is why we have to complete the substations, power lines, and last-mile electrification projects, but we must look for ways that it will not suddenly add to the burden of consumers,” Legarda said.

Through the discussion, Legarda clarified that Panay’s power problem is not caused by only one factor. NGCP reported that the island was short by about 87 megawatts, with a major 150-megawatt power unit then on forced outage, while DOE explained that additional reserves are still needed to prevent future supply disruptions as demand continues to grow. DOE said it is monitoring the return to operation of the power plant on forced outage and pursuing new generation investments, while NGCP committed to complete the Nabas-Caticlan-Boracay power highway by August 2026 to strengthen supply security for Aklan and Boracay.

On distribution, Legarda confirmed that apart from recent rotating brownouts caused by supply constraints, many interruptions in Antique and Aklan were linked to large-scale cooperative upgrading and maintenance works, including reconductoring, replacement of bare wires, line improvements, and substation upgrades.

She stressed that these works reflect a needed catch-up modernization of aging distribution infrastructure, but must be carried out efficiently, with clear schedules and minimal disruption to households, businesses, schools, and public services. NEA and the cooperatives committed to identify priority facilities, accelerate upgrades, clarify funding sources and timelines, and coordinate with the ERC on long-pending regulatory approvals affecting critical infrastructure projects.

On last-mile electrification, Legarda noted the need to distinguish between energizing remaining households and ensuring that newly connected communities receive reliable service. She emphasized that funding for electrification must be matched by sufficient generation, transmission, and distribution capacity.

On connectivity, Legarda recalled her support for Free Wi-Fi for All sites in 150 barangays in Antique and asked DICT to sustain these projects, conduct an audit of their performance, and clarify the locations of active sites in Western Visayas. DICT committed to maintain funded sites and expand coverage in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.

Legarda also highlighted her donation of Starlink units to Antique, stressing that local governments must ensure that donated and government-procured connectivity facilities are properly deployed, maintained, and not left idle.

Telecommunications providers, for their part, presented planned investments and technical solutions to improve service reliability, including fiber expansion, network redundancy, fiberized towers, congestion relief, and satellite-based connectivity for remote areas, while seeking closer coordination with local governments on permits.

“We also asked our local governments to help make it easier for telecommunications providers to invest and build in our communities. There should be no unnecessary costs, requirements, or delays. If these happen, I asked the providers to immediately let us know so we can help address them.

At the same time, DICT committed to support internet services in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas, while the service providers committed to continue investing in infrastructure and improving their services for the needs of Antique and Aklan,” Legarda said.

Legarda concluded by calling for closer coordination among LGUs, power utilities, telecommunications providers, and national agencies, stressing that electricity and internet connectivity must be planned together so communities can receive reliable power, working connectivity, completed infrastructure, and better public service. She added that future meetings may involve other Panay Island provinces to ensure a more aligned, island-wide approach to power reliability and digital connectivity.