DAVAO CITY – The Mindanao business sector on Wednesday called on president-apparent Benigno C. Aquino III to address the power crisis in the entire island.

Vicente T. Lao, chairman of the Mindanao Business Council (MinBC) and Mindanao Electric Power Alliance (MEPA), said they would convey their request in a letter to Aquino immediately after he is sworn into office.

The canvassing of votes for presidential and vice-presidential elections is yet to come but Aquino is poised to win the presidency as manifested by initial results from the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

“Mindanao is really having a big problem and we want to tell the incoming Aquino administration that we need an energy reliability program in Mindanao so that we will not encounter this power problem again,” Lao told business reporters at the Marco Polo Hotel on Wednesday.

Lao also recommended an amendment to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) which he said has been used by the government as an excuse for inaction since it shifts to the private sector the responsibility to solve the power situation in Mindanao.