A viral Facebook post about a “MALAWAKANG BROWNOUT” (widespread brownout) is misleading.
On March 20, 2026, a million-follower content creator, business entrepreneur, and public figure named KOYS DAVAO 2.0 warned on Facebook of a supposed widespread brownout but provided no official advisories or other specifics to support the claim.
The post urges the public to prepare by charging gadgets, storing water, preparing candles and flashlights, buying ready-to-eat food, setting aside cash, and readying power banks in emergency supplies.
Post screenshot
The pinned comments further complicate the claim. While the original post strongly suggests a possible major outage, one of the page’s own comments says, “Sa ngayon, wala pang official announcement tungkol sa 3 months malawakang brownout” (As of now, there is still no official announcement regarding a widespread brownout that would last for three months).
This may create confusion for the public, especially those who only see the graphic and headline without reading the comments for context.
This page usually posts content that invites netizens to engage in exchange of money via GCash transfer—typically a strategy to promote a page to gain more followers and wider engagement.
The comment sections of its posts also pin links that promote gambling sites.
As of April 17, 1:30 pm, the post has significantly gained online attention with over 1,309 reactions, 417 comments, and 5,852 shares.
MindaNews fact-checked this because warnings of power interruptions are matters of public interest that affect everyday life—in households, businesses, transportation, and communication.
The post could cause confusion or unnecessary alarm to the public, especially since it is presented in an urgent and authoritative manner without clearly identifying the source of the supposed advisory.
An initial review of the image shows that while it resembles a public safety or emergency preparedness card, it lacks details commonly found in official power interruption notices such as cause of outage, affected area, time and date, duration, or the name of the issuing utility provider or government office.
It also does not specify whether the interruption is scheduled, localized, or supported by any official announcement.
Since the March 20, 2026 post, there has been no notice or announcement of power interruption as of 16 April 2026 that there is a three-month brownout from Davao Light and Power Co.
Data from National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) show that Mindanao has an available generating capacity of 3,625 MW and a system peak demand of 2,653 MW, suggesting a lower chance of power interruption.
.Some netizens even commented, apparently believing the page’s claim, as seen in the comment section.
Netizens, however, can verify claims like this and other similar announcements by checking the official advisories posted by electric utilities, LGUs, and disaster response offices.
The post itself contains the line “Follow official advisories for updates,” but the FB caption shown in the screenshot does not directly link or identify any official advisory.
At most, this post appears to be a preparedness reminder framed in a way that may lead users to believe that a major outage is already expected.
MindaNews encourages netizens to verify information first through reliable sources before sharing claims like this to help prevent confusion or panic.
As with all our reports, MindaNews welcomes fact-check leads or suggestions from the public. (Jhino Bilbao/DOrSU Intern)
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