BusinessWeek National

BusinessWeek National Feature
'lAdha

BusinessWeek National Feature

For decades, we have been talking about relocating entire communities away from flood-prone or earthquake-prone areas. We have seen the same cycle repeat itself — disaster strikes, homes are destroyed, families are displaced, and after the rescue missions fade, many rebuild in the same dangerous places. Why? Because there is nowhere else to go.

To learn more, please click the link below.

Building new communities in Safe Zones - Business Week National It is an idea whose time has come.

House begins congressional inquiry into May 13 power outages

By Zaldy De Layola

MANILA – The House of Representatives on Tuesday formally opened a congressional inquiry into the massive May 13 power outages that affected millions of consumers across Luzon and the Visayas.

The inquiry, conducted jointly by the House Committee on Energy and the House Committee on Legislative Franchises, focused on the cascading tripping of the Tayabas-Ilijan and Dasmariñas-Ilijan 500-kilovolt transmission lines that triggered several red and yellow alerts across the Luzon and Visayas grids.

The hearing stemmed from House Resolution 1024, authored by Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III and Senior Deputy Speaker Ferdinand "Dinand" Hernandez, seeking an investigation into the widespread grid disruptions.

“This resolution is a call to action. Filipinos affected by these outages expect today’s discussion to be productive, transparent, and collaborative as we work together to strengthen our energy infrastructure and ensure a reliable power supply for every Filipino,” Hernandez said in his opening statement during the hearing.

He said the inquiry was not simply about identifying technical failures, but about ensuring accountability and putting long-term safeguards in place to prevent another major grid collapse.

“This inquiry should remain constructive, solution-oriented, and responsive to the concerns of the public. Our mandate today is to determine what failed, why it failed, and what measures must be put in place to prevent similar incidents from happening again,” he said.

Hernandez said that repeated transmission failures carry serious economic consequences, especially at a time when Filipinos are already struggling with inflation and rising costs.

According to him, more than 3.9 million consumers across Metro Manila, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal were affected by the Manual Load Dropping.

“Every time the lights go out, businesses incur losses, households are disrupted, and our economy, already grappling with inflation and global volatility, takes another avoidable hit," he said.

He also emphasized the need for stronger coordination among the Department of Energy, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines, and industry stakeholders to improve response time and crisis management during major power disruptions.

“When these failures occur, the public rightfully demands accountability from government. That is why we must move beyond reactive responses and work toward a more proactive and resilient energy system,” Hernandez said.

“The DOE must have real-time visibility and timely coordination with the grid operator to ensure faster response, clearer communication, and better crisis management."

He said the House inquiry will focus on technical accountability and grid resilience, coordination and communication protocols, and supply security and ancillary services.

He noted that protecting the stability of the power system requires close coordination among regulators, system operators, and power producers.

The House leader pointed out that no entity operates in a vacuum.

“The regulator, the system operator, and the power producers are all interconnected stakeholders in maintaining the stability of our power system. Our goal today is to bridge operational gaps, strengthen coordination, and establish safeguards that will better protect the grid and the Filipino people,” he said. (PNA)