Power outage hits Puerto Galera on Black Saturday

Several areas in the popular tourist town of Puerto Galera experienced a power outage lasting several hours on Black Saturday, even as thousands of tourists continued to flock to the town for Holy Week activities.

According to Bam Alegre's report on "24 Oras Weekend," the outage was traced to an issue at the Minolo substation but was immediately addressed, supposedly minimizing its impact on tourism operations.

Despite the inconvenience and the effects of rising fuel prices and transportation costs, visitors—particularly foreign tourists—continued to arrive at Sabang Beach, a popular destination for diving and water sports.

Puerto Galera also drew crowds for traditional Holy Week observances, including a Senakulo performance where residents reenacted the passion and sacrifice of Jesus Christ as part of Good Friday commemorations.

Local data showed that tourist arrivals remained steady during Black Saturday, with more than 2,000 visitors arriving while an estimated 1,700 departed, indicating a near break-even flow of tourists.

“Only recently did tourist arrivals pick up. Previously, guest arrivals were low,” restaurant waitress Rhea Dari.

“So even if earnings increase, this is somewhat reduced because of this problem on electricity," she added.

Foreign tourists were seen enjoying diving activities and other water sports in Sabang Beach.

“It’s a great place to dive. Different types of dives, and I didn’t dive for the past 20 years so I’m very glad to be able to dive here because of the corals and because of the fishes,” an English tourist said.

“Tourism here in Sabang is fine. The flow of tourists is also good, mostly Chinese, Korean, and European tourists,” said village councilor Elmer Ilagan.

Amid rising fuel prices and higher transport fares, some water sports operators implemented slight price adjustments. However, most activities reportedly retained their base rates, with only minimal increases in select packages.

Christine Ibon, Puerto Galera information officer, said most tourism-related rates have registered "minimal" increases.

“Our water sports activities have not changed in price. However, there is a minimal increase in beach shopping activity," she said.

"From P1,800 for 1 to 6 persons, it has become P2,000. For our snorkeling activity, there was a very minimal increase of P50.” Ibon added.

The local government reminded the public that an ordinance is in place prohibiting scalping or the illegal resale of ferry tickets to and from Puerto Galera.

Authorities said they continue to monitor tourism activities and maintain order amid the seasonal influx of visitors.—MCG, GMA News