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INENDOSO ni Senate committee on energy chair Senator Pia Cayetano ang agarang pagpasa sa panukalang batas para sa full development ng natural gas industry sa Filipinas.
Sa kanyang sponsorship speech nitong Martes, 20 Agosto 2024, hinikayat ni Cayetano ang kanyang mga kapwa senador para agarang ipasa ang Senate Bill No. 2793 o kilala sa tawag na “Philippine Natural Gas Development Act” na magbibigay ng mandato para magpaunlad pa ng indigenous natural gas upang matiyak ang supply ng koryente sa bansa.
“The bill seeks to revitalize indigenous gas exploration and develop natural gas infrastructure. This bill provides for the prioritization of indigenous gas over other imported LNG and other conventional fuels in terms of use and the production of power,” ani Cayetano.
“With Filipino gas, we will not be heavily dependent on foreign suppliers, who may suddenly pull out of the Philippines to sell their gas to richer buyers elsewhere. Filipino gas will give us a significant measure of energy security and sovereignty underpinning our economic development,” dagdag ni Cayetano.
Bukod kay Cayetano, mayroon pang 16 senador ang sumusuporta sa SB 2793 para isulong ang pagsasabatas nito — sina Senate President Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, Majority Leader Francis Tolentino, Minority Leader Aquino “Koko” Pimentel III, ganoon din sina senators Grace Poe, Mark Villar, Joseph Victor Ejercito, Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, Cynthia Villar, Christopher “Bong” Go, Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, Joel Villanueva, Raffy Tulfo, Robinhood Padilla, Alan Peter Cayetano, Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., at Manuel “Lito” Lapid.
Iginiit ni Cayetano, ang naturang panukala ay higit na makapanghihikayat sa mga nais mamuhunan sa Filipinas dahil ito ay magiging senyales na ang pamahalaan ay “committed” sa industriya na ngangailangan ng heavy investments tulad ng natural gas.
“The bill would provide a market for indigenous gas by giving priority to its procurement and use for power generation, a policy already enshrined in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) and successive issuances from EPIRA’s chief implementing agency, the Department of Energy (DOE),” paglilinaw ni Cayetano.
Naniniwala si Cayetano na magbibigay ito ng seguridad sa mga namumuhunan ng mas magandang produkto sa kanilang produksiyon lalo na’t ang Filipinas ay nasa lowest rank kompara sa ibang bansa sa Southeast Asia sa usapin ng natural gas discoveries.
“Malampaya was supposed to be the first of many producing gas fields in the Philippines but it turned out to be the only one. It has grown old, and may become depleted as early as 2027. This poses a dilemma. To support the DOE’s long-term energy plan, the country needs more Malampayas, we barely have one left,” diin ni Cayetano.
Ang Malampaya ay lumikha ng stable-cost gas sa koryente sa energy requirements ng Luzon sa loob ng 20 taon. Ito rin ang kauna-unahan at nag-iisang natural gas field na nadiskubre noong 1989.
Muling tinukoy ni Cayetano na ang polisiya ng DOE pagdating sa natural gas ay magsisilbing transition fuel upang ang Filipinas ay lumipat sa paggamit ng renewable energy.
“While the renewable energy industry is developing, natural gas can help decrease our dependence on imported coal and oil. Natural gas as baseload source is less harmful to the environment and less volatile to international conflicts,” paglilinaw ni Cayetano sa kanyang speech. (NIÑO ACLAN)
