DOE wants P130-billion Malampaya fund for energy projects only

Business Mirror

Published on Tuesday, 17 September 2013 19:38

Written by Lenie Lectura

ENERGY Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said on Tuesday that the untouched and remaining funds from the Malampaya natural gas project in Palawan now amounts to P130 billion as of August.

To safeguard the release of the said fund, the agency is pushing for the issuance of a clarificatory executive order to make sure that the said fund will be utilized for energy-related projects only.

“Basically, it’s just an interpretation, as long as the interpretation is very clear that it’s for energy-related projects…. I’m quite sure the President is already thinking of issuing that,” said Petilla.

Section 8 of Presidential Decree 910 states that “all fees, revenues and receipts of the [Energy Development Board] from any and all sources including receipts from service contracts and agreements such as application and processing fees, signature bonus, discovery bonus, production bonus; all money collected from concessionaires, representing unspent work obligations, fines and penalties under the Petroleum Act of 1949; as well as the government share representing royalties, rentals, production share on service contracts and similar payments on the exploration, development and exploitation of energy-resources, shall form part of a special fund to be used to finance energy resource development and exploitation programs and projects of the government and for such other purposes as may be hereafter directed by the President.”

“The President already said the interpretation is really energy related,   so you can be assured that for the term of the President, it will not be used for any other project other than energy-related,” added Petilla. The administration has so far spent about P15 billion of the Malampaya fund to finance, among others, the P4-billion allocation for the diesel power gensets for Mindanao and  P2 billion for the Pantawid Pasada program. 

Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo spent P20 billion from the Malampaya funds, Petilla said. 

Total collection from the Malampaya fund, which involves royalties of the government from the Malampaya gas-to-power project in northwest Palawan and other oil and gas projects has reached around P167 billion to date. 

Some P900 million from the Malampaya fund was allegedly distributed to 12 bogus non-governmental organizations linked to businesswoman Janet Napoles.   source