The Great Switch and Warning

The battle for the energy future of Iloilo’s 1st District is no longer just a local turf war; it is a national test case for whether public utilities exist to serve a territory or a public. With the filing of House Bill 6292 by Rep. Janette Garin, seeking to expand MORE Power’s franchise into seven municipalities currently served by the Iloilo 1 Electric Cooperative (ILECO 1), the spotlight has shifted from legal technicalities to a far simpler metric: performance.

For decades, the Philippine power sector has operated under the assumption that a franchise is a fiefdom—an exclusive right to operate regardless of service quality. The Supreme Court effectively dismantled this with its ruling in G.R. No. 264260, affirming that franchises are not exclusive and must yield to the “common good.” In Iloilo, the “common good” is quantifiable, and the numbers tell a story that loyalty cannot override.

The most compelling argument for this expansion is what we might call “Consumer Sovereignty.” It is the radical idea that a paying customer should have the right to choose a provider that offers better value.

The data supports the migration. As of early 2025, ILECO 1’s residential rates hovered around PHP 13.22/kWh, while MORE Power in Iloilo City maintained rates closer to PHP 10.00–11.00/kWh. For a small business owner in Oton or a household in Guimbal, that difference isn’t abstract—it is monthly capital. Even ILECO 1’s Technical Services Manager, Engr. GC June Garanchon, inadvertently validated this market logic when he admitted that as a customer, he would “choose which of the two would be more advantageous.” If the utility’s own leadership recognizes the primacy of choice, why shouldn’t the people of San Joaquin?

This expansion is not an indictment of the cooperative model, but a critique of the complacency that monopoly breeds. Rep. Garin has described the existing facilities in the 1st District as “aging and decrepit,” a sharp contrast to the aggressive modernization visible in Iloilo City. Since taking over in 2020, MORE Power slashed system losses from over 30% to just above 5% and reduced outage frequency from nearly 20 times a year to single digits.

The entry of private capital serves as a necessary shock to the system. The “existential crisis” facing rural cooperatives is only a crisis if they refuse to adapt. If ILECO 1 is truly “ready for competition” as they claim, then they should welcome the challenge. A monopoly that fears competition is a monopoly that knows it is underdelivering.

Reliable energy is the silent engine of development. Iloilo City’s recent 7.1% economic growth is inextricably linked to its stabilized power grid, which has attracted BPO and industrial investments. The 1st District—home to heritage tourism gems in Miag-ao and San Joaquin—remains largely agricultural, but it is poised for more.

You cannot build a modern tourism industry or attract light manufacturing to towns where brownouts are a regular feature of life. Extending the franchise is an economic strategy to decongest the city and spread industrial progress to the periphery. It transforms electricity from a mere utility into a developmental tool.

Ultimately, what happens in Iloilo will echo in every boardroom of every electric cooperative in the Philippines. The legislative intent behind HB 6292, backed by the Supreme Court’s non-exclusivity ruling, sends a chilling (or thrilling) message: Performance is now the only tenure.

The era of protected inefficiency is over. If a private corporation can offer lower rates and higher reliability, the law will no longer protect a cooperative’s territory.

For the consumers of the 1st District, this is a promise of better service. For the rest of the country’s utilities, it is a warning: Improve your service, or prepare to lose your switch.