Friday, August 18, 2017

DOE seeks Duterte, Congress’s okay to spend Malampaya funds for interconnection projects



By Jovee Marie de la Cruz -

The Department of Energy (DOE) on Thursday said it would ask President Duterte to endorse to Congress the passage of a measure allowing the use of Malampaya funds to finance several interconnections projects.
During the 2018 budget deliberations of the DOE, Energy Undersecretary and Spokesman Felix William B. Fuentebella said congressional approval is needed to expand the use of Malampaya funds for the construction of interconnectivity and rural electrification projects.
“We will seek clearance from the President to endorse for congressional approval for use of Malampaya Fund. This will be [a] subject of legislation,” he said.
Currently, Fuentebella noted the total collection from Malampaya gas facility is at P241.37 billion. Of this fund, P47.74 billion have been disbursed.
In November 2013 the Supreme Court ruled that the fund should be reserved for financing “energy resource development and exploitation” activities.
If approved by Congress, the energy official said the fund could be used to bankroll the following projects: the Visayas-Mindanao Interconnection Project, Bohol-Cebu Interconnection Project and the Antique-Mindoro Interconnection Project.
The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines said the  Visayas-Mindanao Interconnection Project seeks to connect power from Cebu to Dipolog.
Meanwhile, the five-year Regional Development Plan outlined the completion of the Bohol-Cebu Interconnection Project by 2020.
The Antique-Mindoro Interconnection Project is included in the three-phase project plan to interconnect Mindoro and other islands to a proposed mine-mouth power plant in Antique, which has an initial aggregate capacity of 50 megawatts.
Also, Fuentebella said the gas fund could back rural electrification projects of the agency, which is currently at 90.5 percent.

Missing fund
Meanwhile, Rep. Josephine Ramirez-Sato of the Lone District of Occidental Mindoro has urged the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) to account for the alleged P25 billion “missing” Malampaya Fund uncovered by the Commission on Audit (COA).
“The BTr should explain the discrepancy in the current balance of the Malampaya Fund. What happened to this P25 billon?”  Ramirez-Sato asked.
According to Ramirez-Sato, the P21 billion in cash releases and P4 billion in remittances as of December 2016 should be looked into, noting that no less than the COA itself had cast doubt on the reliability of the balance of the Malampaya Fund.
According to Ramirez-Sato, the P25 billion, if properly used, will go a long way in jump-starting renewable-energy (RE) projects that would boost power supply and energize off-the-grid island provinces like those that lie within the Mimaropa region.
Ramirez-Sato, a vice chairman of the House Committee on Economic Affairs and a member of the House Committee on Energy, said the Malampaya funds should be used to “energize” remote islands with no access to, or short in supply of, power and electricity.
She added it is high time that a portion of the fund goes to projects that promote RE, particularly in remote islands that are “off the grid” or not yet connected to the main power grid, to promote inclusive growth.
“People in island provinces, towns or even barangays suffer from fluctuating electricity because of power shortage. We need to energize our remote islands to lure investors and spur economic activities,” she said.
For his part, Party-list Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate of Bayan Muna questioned the DOE for the unrecorded P21 billion in cash releases through special allotment release orders.
“Where did the funds go and who authorized these disbursements?” asked the progressive solon.
“The Supreme Court has already ruled that the Malampaya funds should only be used for energy exploitation and development, but what happened to the P21 billion Malampaya funds and why is it only now that this has surfaced?”  he said.
During the budget hearing, Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said the agency is not accountable for the missing Malampaya Fund since the DOE immediately remits the collected funds to the BTr.

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