DOE chief also on way out?

MANILA, Philippines — Energy Secretary Sharon Garin leaves her fate to President Marcos amid calls for her resignation, this time over the power crisis besetting the Visayas.

“I do appreciate the comments because that means that the people are really concerned about the energy situation,” Garin said yesterday when asked about the clamor from some groups for her resignation.

“I work at the pleasure of the President,” Garin, a former party-list lawmaker whom President Marcos appointed in July 2025, stressed. “We will follow whatever his direction is.”

Garin has been facing resignation calls ever since the Middle East war broke out, which sent petroleum and electricity prices skyrocketing. As early as late March, transport leaders like Manibela chairman Mar Valbuena called for Garin’s resignation for allegedly protecting the interests of oil companies.

Resignation calls against Garin have reemerged with the worsening situation in the Visayas power grid, with daily red and yellow alerts affecting economic activities in the region.

“Visayas felt nothing from the government’s emergency response over the past six months,” Krishna Arriola, campaigner of the group Power for People Coalition, said at a recent press conference. “The situation worsened for ordinary Filipinos and workers and small business owners.”

Caritas Philippines president and San Carlos Bishop Gerry Alminaza asked Garin whether power producers in the Visayas are benefiting from the crisis.

“Is the Department of Energy able to make corporations accountable for their failure to deliver on their contracted obligations? Are those responsible held accountable for the outages in the Visayas?”

Garin credited the people working at the agency for promptly addressing the delays in the power sector.

“I think the DOE, starting from 2022, has been trying to catch up with (projects) that haven’t been done before. In energy, you need to plan because the effect is five years from now, so we’re trying to rush all the others,” the secretary said.

“I think the DOE has been doing very well in terms of upstream and downstream exploration, renewables, baseload and all the others,” she said.

Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda, meanwhile, has broken his silence to confirm his resignation.

“I extend my heartfelt gratitude to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for the trust and opportunity to have served as secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology,” Aguda said. “It has been a privilege and an honor to lead the department and contribute to the country’s digital transformation agenda.”

“I am committed to ensuring a smooth and orderly transition, with the continuity of essential functions, operations and ongoing digital initiatives safeguarded,” he added. — Rainier Allan Ronda