Consortium eyeing new Malampaya gas output; $13B in royalties remitted to NG

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

here to increase dramatically the gas production with the extended term of the service contract and resource availability, and more importantly, we are trying to make sure we produce the least cost to consumers.” the review of the license extension is ongoing. “We are reviewing it for final approval,” he said. Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla earlier acknowledged that the ongoing review is crucial to the country’s energy security as the “present Malampaya-Camago field is a finite one.” lost jurisdiction over the country after Duterte decided to withdraw its membership.

T he Malampaya project is one of the country’s most important power assets, as it produces natural gas for power plants that account for around 20 percent of the Philippines’s total electricity requirements. It began operations in 2001, with the consortium’s license for the project set to expire in 2024.

T he Malampaya asset is a significant addition to Prime Infra’s growing energy portfolio as it reduces the country’s reliance on imported fuel and helps drive economic productivity and industrial growth.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla earlier said the ICC’s decision was an affront to the country’s sovereignty.

Definitely, I do not welcome this move. I will not welcome them [ICC] in the Philippines unless they make it clear that they will respect us. I will not stand for any of these antics that will tend to question our sovereignty. I will not accept that,” the DOJ chief said.

R emulla maintained that the Philippines has a functioning justice system and said the decision of the ICC to resume its “drug war” probe is an “irritant.”

T he Philippine government is expected to amplify its grounds against the PTC’s decision when it formally filed its appeal. DOJ spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano earlier said the ICC should give the Philippines more time to investigate the abuses and deaths associated with the drug crackdown of the previous administration.

Clavano said the DOJ probe on the drug war-related deaths is ongoing and Remulla has committed to pursuing each and every case. Joel R. San Juan

“ The SC [service contract] 38 has generated and remitted to the Philippine government some $13 billion since its inception,” said Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. (Prime Infra) President and CEO

Guillaume Lucci at the Powertrends International Business Forum held on Wednesday.

T he Malampaya gas field is operated through SC 38 granted to the consortium of Prime

TO remove the Philippines from the list of world’s biodiversity hot spots, Senator Cynthia A. Villar wants to include more protected areas (PA) through legislation.

Villar, chairman of the Senate committee on environment and natural resources, said there are still many places in the country experiencing high rates of habitat degradation and biodiversity loss.

I n her opening remarks during the Senate hearing on the country’s PAs, Villar lamented that hot spots have lost around 86 percent of their original habitat. “Hot spots are also considered to be significantly threatened due to man-made exploitation and by climate change,” said Villar.

Hence, there are still many areas in the country, such as wetlands, marine sanctuaries, tropical forests, watersheds, wildlife sanctuaries, among others, that remain underprotected and one certain way of affording protection to these areas is by designating them as PAs through legislation,” she added.

T he senator noted that adding more protected areas becomes even more urgent and relevant now due to the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration,

Energy Resources Development

B.V. (Prime Energy)—a subsidiary of Razon-led Prime Infra— UC38LLC and state firm Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC).

Lucci said the consortium, which is seeking a license extension so it could still ensure gas supply from the depleting Malampaya gas field, assured during the forum, “We’re here to stay, we’re here to invest, we’re which runs from 2021 to 2030.

T his was declared so that all nations can massively scale up the restoration of destroyed ecosystems.

T his is the opportune time, Villar said, to discuss the merits of the seven bills on six proposed protected areas.

T he following bills are:

Bill expanding the area of an existing legislated PA;

Senate Bill (SB) No. 354 and SB No. 1259 referring to the Paoay Lake Protected Landscape in Ilocos Norte;

SB No. 1536 referring to the expansion of the Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park, a protected area in Las Piñas and Parañaque; SB No. 1691, which refers to the San Francisco Protected Landscape (commonly known as the Mulanay Watershed Forest Reserve) in Quezon Province;

SB No. 1725 referring to the Alibijaban Protected Landscape and Seascape also in Quezon Province;

SB No. 355 referring to the Taklong and Tandog Group of Islands Natural Park in Guimaras; and

SB No. 517, which refers to the Bantayan Group of Islands Protected Landscape and Seascape in Cebu.

T he extension of the service contract is also meant to improve the output of existing wells and develop nearby gas fields. “Our drop-dead day to produce new gas or new well is first quarter of 2026 and we hope we can actually accelerate that as much as possible while doing it safely and reliably,” Lucci said.

Department of Energy (DOE) Director for Energy Policy and Planning Bureau Michael Sinocruz, who was also present during the forum, said

Prime Infra’s investment in the expansion of Malampaya operations will also be critical in providing the necessary infrastructure that would support the development of natural gas in the area, one of the key points defined in the administration’s energy agenda.

“ The objective really is to produce gas, and ensure we have the least cost of gas in the country. We have a deep obligation to ensure that,” added Lucci.

PRC readies for PHL’s ‘big one’ after massive quake in Turkey

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

FOLLOWING the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on Monday, February 6, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) is gearing up to respond in the event that any place in the country may be hit by a tremor of similar magnitude.

T he PRC noted that Philippines ranks first in disaster risk, according to The World Risk Index 2022. It is also vulnerable not just to earthquakes but also to volcanic eruptions, storm surge, typhoons, floods, and drought.

As auxiliary to the government, the PRC has a Mass Casualty Incident, or MCI, protocol in place. We have trained emergency medical services and psychological first aid providers across the country, and they are ready to respond to people affected by an

MCI,” explained PRC CEO and Chairman Richard J. Gordon. Gordon added that PRC responded to the 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Bohol province in 2013 and to the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Abra province in 2022, the two most destructive earthquakes in the country in the 21st century.

A s part of its preparation for a huge disaster, PRC is revisiting the organization’s preparedness protocol for big disasters based on data on predicted impacts to life and property of a high-magnitude earthquake in Metro Manila.

T he PRC is also preparing for the logistical requirements to immediately deploy rescue workers and humanitarian aid to affected areas when needed.

Gordon underscored that the country must be prepared not just for a high-magnitude earthquake but also for its secondary effects, such as landslides, tsunami, and leaks in pipes carrying natural and other combustible or toxic gases.

Lawmakers question ‘conflicting’ PSA and BPI data on onion supply

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

LAWMAKERS on Wednesday questioned the data discrepancies between the Bureau of Plant and Industry (BPI) and the Philippine Statistic Authority (PSA), which they say might have resulted in possible hoarding and price manipulation on agricultural commodities, particularly onions and garlic.

D uring the motu proprio inquiry of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food, Majority Leader Manix Dalipe questioned the contrasting numbers coming from these two agencies, saying the lower chamber will continue to find out what went wrong on the possible hoarding and price manipulation of agricultural products.

“If you cannot know how much supply you have then it’s very difficult for us to strategize, like if we need to import or not. Is our data artificial? Are you faking all these? May laman ba ang cold storage? This is possible, what if cold storages are empty and your reports say they are full what will happen to the market because of the wrong data?” Dalipe asked the BPI.

“ BPI should know this because you are our guide to make the right decision and data from the BPI should be accurate to stabilize the supply,” he added.

T he Department of Agriculture (DA) said the country should be selfsufficient when it comes to onions since it produces 312,830 metric tons (MT) of the said agricultural product.

Meanwhile, local consumption of onions is only at 21,000 MT per month or 252,000 MT in a year.

However, due to lack of cold storage capacity for agricultural products, very few of the harvested onions are stockpiled.

A lso, Sagip Rep. Rodante Marcoleta questioned the discrepancies between the data of the BPI and the PSA submitted to the lower chamber.

In 2020 our sufficiency level was at 113 percent, in 2021 at 120 percent and in 2022 at 120 percent. But our question is why we don’t have a supply of onions, we can clearly see that there is hoarding here,” he alleged.

“ We were being misled by the statistics you supply,” added Marcoleta.

F or his part, Arnold Timoteo of the BPI said the PSA is using a different methodology in computing its data.

The production data we have, we get them from LGUs [local government unit], and we consolidate all the data they submitted” he said.

“Based on our data for the second quarter of 2022, the sufficiency level is at 210 percent, for the 3rd quarter it was down to 114 percent, for November, we suffered 17 days shortage,” he said.

Meanwhile, Reynaldo Vallesteros Jr. of the PSA said they based their data on the information they gathered from the production areas they visited. We will clear this data. We will verify our records and submit it to the lower chamber. For now we cannot confirm nor deny this,” he said.

But Marikina Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo expressed alarm at the data discrepancies between the two agencies.

From 2011 to 2021, the increase in annual demand is modest [at 5 percent] which is believable because of the population increase,” she said.

But from 2021 to 2022 there was a 39 percent increase in demand on onions. For me this is a big mystery. How will you explain that? It’s a miracle that from 2021 to 2022 something happened and we registered a 39 percent increase in demand to 363,000 MT in 2022,” added Quimbo.

Without clear explanation from the BPI, Quimbo believed that their data was “reengineered data.”

This is so alarming, all data on productions say there should be no shortage,” said Quimbo, “ang driver ng shortage ay lumalabas ay yung de- mand pero may paliwanag ba kayo? kasi kung wala kayong maganda paliwanag ini-imbento nyo ang datos na to at and you are justifying ang taas ng sibuyas.”

Meanwhile, aside from addressing the persistent problem of hoarding agricultural products, House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Mark Enverga said farmers are asking government’s help to fight smuggling and unscrupulous trading, which resulted in fluctuating farm-gate prices and unstable market price, lack of harvest and available cold storage facilities, and the need for calibrated importation.

It is sad to hear that our onion farmers are discouraging their children to take on the task of being the next generation farmers and instead they would want their children to pursue different directions as farming is not a profitable endeavor,” said Enverga.

Earlier, Speaker Martin Romualdez asked profit-hungry traders manipulating or hoarding the supply and prices of agricultural products such as onion to “moderate their greed” or suffer the dire consequences. According to Romualdez, there is no reason for the prices of commodities such as onion and garlic to soar sky-high because there is sufficient supply based on the information reaching the House.