PBBM hails fuel contracts for BARMM

By Charles Dantes and Alena Mae S. Flores

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday stressed the need to ensure the security and self-sufficiency of the country’s energy supply during the joint award of a petroleum service and coal operating contracts in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in Malacanang.

The Department of Energy (DOE) and the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Energy of the BARMM signed an intergovernmental energy board (IEB) circular on the joint contracts

The President, during the contract signing, said that this endeavor will pave the way for establishing another energy resource in BARMM.

The President added that with the circular, BARMM will be a massive part of the development process of the Philippines.

The IEB circular operationalizes the provision of Section 10, Article XIII of

Republic Act No. 11054 or the Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region to jointly grant rights, privileges, and concessions for the exploration, development, and utilization of uranium and fossil fuels such as petroleum, natural gas, and coal within the territorial jurisdiction of the Bangsamoro.

According to DOE Secretary Raphael Lotilla, the circular will empower the national and Bangsamoro agencies to jointly grant rights, and concessions for the development and utilization of indigenous and conventional energy sources within the jurisdiction of the Bangsamoro region.

BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Ebra-