President Marcos urges Pinoys to conserve water, energy

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos urged Filipinos to be frugal in using water and electricity, citing the country’s tight energy supply and the expected severe dry spell due to El Niño until early 2024.

In his vlog posted on YouTube on Saturday, Marcos noted that the Philippines’ power demand far exceeds supply.

He added that the 35 percent reduction in rainfall expected in some parts of the country due to El Niño could affect the supply of dams, including their allocations for irrigation and hydropower production.

“As we increase our supply (of power), let’s combine this with energy saving measures. Not just on the use of air conditioners and electric fans, there are appliances or electronics that we can reduce the use of to help with this goal as we have been doing during Earth Hour,” the President said partly in Filipino.

“It’s noticeable that the temperature is higher compared to the previous summer season… the El Niño alert has been raised and expected from June to August, maybe until the first quarter of next year,” Marcos said.

Marcos earlier ordered local government units (LGUs) to launch a campaign to increase public awareness on water and energy conservation as part of the measures to mitigate the effects of a dry spell.

“I instructed the DILG to launch a campaign in LGUs to mitigate the impact of El Niño such as saving water at home, in car washes, in watering golf courses and refilling swimming pools,” he said in his vlog.

The administration is considering all technologies to ensure energy security and improve the country’s energy mix, the Chief Executive said.

“We continue to increase energy production by opening more renewable energy sources,” he said.

Marcos also cited his signing of an agreement renewing the service contract for the Malampaya gas field until 2039. The Malampaya gas field off Palawan supplies about 2,000 megawatts to Luzon.

Malampaya is the country’s only indigenous commercial source of natural gas, which will be commercially depleted by 2027 as projected by the Department of Energy (DOE).

On Friday, the President inaugurated a 160-megawatt wind farm in his home province, Ilocos Norte. It is projected to power over 123,000 homes.

The Pagudpud Wind, funded by Ayala-led ACEN Corp., is the third wind energy development in Ilocos Norte along with NorthWind Bangui Bay Project in Bangui and North Luzon Renewables in Pagudpud.

The Marcos administration is setting a target for a higher share of renewable energy in the power generation mix of 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.