Nordeco’s Samal Submarine Cable: A 6-Year Promise Still Out of Reach

October 8, 2025
Balitang Mindanao
Public Policy
0

On September 18, Governor Edwin I. Jubahib secured approval from the Provincial Development and Peace and Order Councils to form a Special Inspection Team tasked with probing major national projects in Davao del Norte.

Among the issues flagged was the Northern Davao Electric Cooperative (Nordeco), with the councils passing resolutions opposing its franchise renewal beyond 2028, demanding a financial report on the alleged ₱1-billion loan for a submarine cable linking Pantukan and the Island Garden City of Samal (Igacos), and urging the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to investigate the matter.

Jubahib emphasized that the purpose of the inspection team is to pursue proper legal action against contractors and agencies that fail to implement projects correctly.

“Mao ang atong himoon nga inspection, to see to it that the national budget and provincial local budget was implemented, nga tama ang pagka-implement, kung dunay mga discrepancy nga atong makita. So, mao ‘ni atong mahimoa’g report and sa atoa pa lang level pwede na ‘ta mo-file og kaso sa mga contractors ug sa mga agencies involved (This inspection will ensure that both the national and provincial budgets are properly implemented. If we find discrepancies, we can prepare a report and, even at our level, file cases against the contractors and agencies involved),” he said.

(Also read: How Reliable Power Fuels Mindanao’s Rising Economy)

Economic pain from power outages

Branded as the “Face of DavNor in Tourism,” Igacos accounted for 55.9% of Davao del Norte’s visitor traffic in 2024. In just the first three quarters, the province logged 634,791 tourist arrivals and earned ₱2.22 billion in receipts, placing Samal ninth among the country’s leading destinations.

“Despite the challenge of power shortages, tourists continue to choose the island for their vacations,” the Igacos Information Office said.

However, power woes in the Igacos continue to weigh heavily on its economy, hitting tourism and retail the hardest. Residents and businesses have endured unstable electricity since the late 1990s, with outages worsening during the summer months.

The island’s famed resorts and local enterprises bear the brunt of these disruptions, as Nordeco’s unreliable service has cost an estimated ₱120 million to ₱150 million in annual losses, about ₱50 million of which comes from tourism alone.

In 2024, Igacos Mayor Al David Uy cautioned that unresolved power woes could quadruple financial losses once the Davao-Samal Bridge opens. He estimated annual damages of about ₱50 million in tourism, ₱30 million in local commerce, ₱50 million for households, ₱10 million in public services, and ₱20 million in agriculture and fisheries.

Tracing the submarine cable project

In September 2019, work officially began on the Samal submarine cable project, a 14.7-kilometer link designed to deliver additional power to the island-city.

The initiative was launched through a partnership between the National Electrification Administration (NEA) and the Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative (Daneo), now known as Nordeco. The cable was planned to run from Barangay Aundanao in Samal to the Pantukan grid in Davao de Oro.

Then Daneco General Manager Mario Angelo Sotto said the ₱1.1-billion submarine cable, designed to deliver up to 50 megawatts (MW) to Samal, was slated for operation by March 2020. He assured residents the upgrade would stabilize supply without added charges.

According to the Philippine News Agency, Samal’s power woes traced back to 2012, when internal disputes crippled Daneco’s services. NEA eventually took control of the cooperative in 2017.

In October 2019, Daneco was officially renamed Nordeco.

In 2021, Nordeco admitted that the pandemic had stalled progress on its project. Meanwhile, Uy expressed optimism, noting that the project’s concrete posts were already in place and projecting it could be operational by September that year.

As of July 2022, the submarine cable remained unfinished, with Nordeco Officer-in-Charge Elvera Alngog reporting the project was about 75% complete. The final phase, involving the actual laying of the cable, was scheduled before the year’s end.

Alngog explained the cable, manufactured in Italy, was due for shipment the following month. Once installed, she projected the long-delayed project could finally be operational by the first quarter of 2023.

In 2023, the Igacos City Council declared a state of calamity over the worsening power crisis and set aside ₱8.1 million for modular generators. Uy criticized Nordeco for failing to provide stable electricity and repeatedly delaying the submarine cable project, questioning the cooperative’s use of its reported ₱1-billion funding.

In July 2025, Uy announced that Davao Light and Power Company would begin laying a submarine cable by October. The move follows the passage of House Bill 11072, which lapsed into law in April and expanded Davao Light’s franchise to cover Tagum City, Igacos, and other areas currently under Nordeco.

Consumer groups have repeatedly criticized Nordeco for poor service, high rates, and inefficiency. Congressional data showed its customers paying ₱3 to ₱5 more per kilowatt per hour (kWh) and experiencing about four hours of outages each month, compared with just 17 minutes for Davao Light users.

(Also read: Davao Light Begins Energization in DavNor)

₱1B loan in question

In 2023, Nordeco refuted allegations from the Davao Consumer Movement (DCM) that it had secured a ₱1.5 billion loan for the Igacos submarine cable project without proper approval from government agencies or its member-consumer-owners (MCOs). The cooperative clarified that no such loan exists in any records with financial institutions connected to the project.

During a Senate hearing, Ryan Amper, DCM convenor, claimed that Nordeco secured the loan in 2022 without clearance from the NEA or ERC, that local government units in Davao del Norte were uninformed, and that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) had yet to issue an Environmental Compliance Certificate. Amper also criticized Nordeco’s Board of Directors, describing them as unelected “officers-in-charge” who authorized the project contract.

Nordeco’s Institutional Services Department Manager, Marilou Impuesto, told the committee that the cooperative aimed to complete the interconnection project before the end of the year, but the target was not met.

As of August 2025, the Northern Davao Electric Cooperative (Nordeco) continues to pursue its franchise renewal despite opposition from consumer groups, who argue that the utility is disregarding public sentiment and the intent of Republic Act 12144.

The dispute underscores growing tensions between Nordeco and segments of its customer base, with the cooperative citing its legal mandate while critics call for a more competitive power provider. The outcome for the contested areas now partly depends on a pending Supreme Court decision.

The Court’s recent ruling on MORE Power illustrates its stance on fairness and competition in the power sector. MORE Power was granted to service areas previously covered by the Iloilo Electric Cooperatives (ILECO) I, II, and III despite objections from those cooperatives, as the Court recognized the company’s capacity to provide more efficient service, modern infrastructure, and stronger consumer protections.

Promises unkept

Despite ongoing debates over the alleged ₱1-billion loan for the Samal submarine cable, the critical measure of success remains whether Nordeco delivered the promised improvements. Years of delays have left the island’s economy, particularly tourism and local commerce, vulnerable to continued outages.

For many in Igacos, the submarine cable project has become a six-year promise unfulfilled, with repeated setbacks undermining confidence in Nordeco’s ability to manage large-scale infrastructure. As the Special Inspection Team reviews project implementation, the focus is on accountability and whether public funds and reported loans were effectively used.

Ultimately, consumers deserve better than promises unkept and power services undelivered.

Sources:

http://davaodelnorte.gov.ph/index.php/news/2318-gov-jubahib-nagtukod-og-inspection-team-alang-sa-imbestigasyon-sa-mga-national-projects

https://pia.gov.ph/news/mindanao/dr/davao-norte-earns-p2-5-b-tourist-receipts-in-2024

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/igacos-records-35k-tourist-arrivals-from-mar-28-to-30

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/recurring-power-woes-igacos-businesses-fear-long-lasting-effects-of-outages