Manila, Sept. 10 -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said his administration's moves to take over failing utilities are not driven by personal rifts with powerful business families, stressing that ensuring reliable water and electricity supply remains the priority.

In his latest podcast episode aired Tuesday, Marcos addressed the government's takeover of Siquijor Island Power Corporation (Sipcor), a Villar-owned power firm.

He said the decision was made to immediately restore electricity service after prolonged outages.

"Hindi na tayo puwedeng mag-antay. Kawawa ang tao eh. So sabi ko, kunin na natin, tayo na magpatakbo," Marcos said, adding that the National Electrification Administration (NEA) and Department of Energy (DOE) have sinc...