expansion

Davao Light and Power Co. (DLPC) has announced its readiness to serve consumers in its expanded area after reporting to have completed a major portion of its ongoing 12 kilometers overhead lines in Kapalong Municipality – as part of its compliance with Republic Act 12144.

“This is part of our preparation to serve customers in our expanded area in Davao del Norte. We look forward to getting approvals from regulatory agencies so we can finally connect households and establishments as soon as we can,” DLPC President and COO Enriczar Tia said.

Kapalong will be the first to connect to DLPC, considering its proximity to the municipality of Sto. Tomas, which is already being served by the private utility. Tia said another line will be constructed coming from the NGCP substation in Maco municipality. This line will connect to Tagum.

Tia said customers of the expanded areas will have lower electricity rates and will also experience the world-class service of DLPC. Under the one franchise-one rate rule, customers in the expanded areas will also enjoy the same rates as the existing customers of DLPC.

As of November 2025, Davao Light’s overall residential rate is P10.06 per kWh, while NORDECO residential customers paid P12.90 per kWh, or a difference of almost P3.00. For customers consuming an average of 120 kWh per month, the difference amounts to almost P350.00 less for DLPC customers. This December, Davao Light’s overall residential rate reduced to P9.7135/kWh. NORDECO has not yet released its December rates.

Tia noted the resistance of Northern Davao Electric Cooperative (NORDECO), which has vowed not to cooperate in any transition to Davao Light even as ordered by RA 12144. NORDECO has also filed a case questioning the law with the courts.

In a statement, NORDECO insists the takeover of Davao Light is “not proper, not right, and, above all, against the law.” They have also asked the DILG to stop public officials, particularly Davao del Norte Governor Edwin Jubahib and former Samal Mayor (now PB Board Member) Al David Uy, from commenting on the performance of NORDECO as it is “beyond their expertise.”

“Hastening the transition process of Republic Act 12144… NORDECO would not cooperate with the transition process pending resolution of the petition it filed before the Supreme Court,” NORDECO acting general manager Elvera Alngog said in a letter to the provincial board.

Nevertheless, Davao Light is still hoping for a peaceful resolution with NORDECO.

“We still hope that NORDECO will sit down and negotiate with us, particularly in the sale of their assets,” Tia said. “Their continued resistance is admittedly causing a lot of delays on our timeline. We are still praying for their cooperation.”

DLPC is still awaiting the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN), which will be issued by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). The commission has already held an online hearing, which was also attended by customers and stakeholders at Tagum City on the matter last November 24, where NORDECO lawyers expressed their opposition. Tia said DLPC is willing to put up its own lines, substations, and poles, but it will take several years before it can serve all the customers in Davao del Norte and Davao de Oro. If NORDECO sells its assets, DLPC can then move in to upgrade the assets and start serving the public immediately.

PH’s largest hotel developer and operator is boosting its hospitality portfolio with the addition of more international-branded hotels in the next five years

MANILA — Property giant Megaworld, through its hospitality arm Megaworld Hotels & Resorts, is increasing its hotel room key count in the next five years, targeting 9,000 hotel room keys as it expands its hotel properties across its various townships all over the Philippines.

To reach 9,000 room keys, Megaworld is set to open seven (7) new hotel properties across the country by 2030. These include the 554-room Chancellor Hotel in Boracay Newcoast; the 404-room Belmont Hotel Iloilo in Iloilo Business Park; the 300-room The Kingsford in The Upper East Bacolod; the 304-room Savoy Hotel Palawan and the 313-room Paragua Sands in Paragua Coastown, San Vicente, Palawan; the 373-room Savoy Capital Town in Capital Town, San Fernando, Pampanga; and the 339-room ArcoVia Hotel in ArcoVia City, Pasig City.

Currently, Megaworld Hotels & Resorts has 13 operational hotel properties with around 6,000 hotel rooms in some of the country’s key tourism destinations in Metro Manila, Tagaytay, Cebu, and Boracay. These include properties under the Richmond Hotel brand (Richmonde Hotel Ortigas, Eastwood Richmonde Hotel and Richmonde Hotel Iloilo), Belmont Hotel brand (Belmont Manila, Belmont Boracay, Belmont Mactan), Savoy Hotel brand (Savoy Manila, Savoy Mactan, Savoy Boracay), Hotel Lucky Chinatown, Twin Lakes Hotel, Kingsford Hotel Manila, and Grand Westside Hotel.

This year, the company is also consolidating the 15-story Courtyard by Marriott in Iloilo Business Park, an international hotel brand, under its hotel portfolio, increasing the current room keys by 326.

Within the year, Belmont Hotel Mactan inside the 30-hectare The Mactan Newtown in Cebu will also transition into an Accor-branded international hotel, the Mercure Mactan Cebu.

In the next five years, at least five more existing homegrown properties of Megaworld Hotels & Resorts will transition into Accor-branded hotels. This move will allow Megaworld Hotels & Resorts to operate not just homegrown hotel brands but also many international hotel brands.

“It is Alliance Global Group’s thrust to strengthen and streamline our hospitality portfolio as we look to attract and welcome more tourists, more conventions, and more events in our hotel developments,” says Kevin L. Tan, president and CEO, Alliance Global Group (AGI), the parent company of Megaworld.

“The inclusion of international hotels in our portfolio will further cement our position as the largest hotel operator in the country for both local and international hotels. Through this expansion program, we aim to continue to further grow and strengthen our contribution to the Philippine tourism industry,” says Lourdes Gutierrez-Alfonso, president and CEO, Megaworld. Earlier this year, Megaworld Hotels & Resorts announced that it has tapped Accor, one of the largest hotel chains in the world, to be its partner in expanding and elevating its homegrown hotel portfolio.

DLPC readying to serve expanded areas

Bullish on Tourism, Megaworld targets 9,000 hotel rooms by 2030