Malampaya eyed to avert power crisis

Manila Standard Today
By Maricel Cruz | Oct. 09, 2014 at 12:01am

House leaders have welcomed the idea of the government tapping a portion of the P10-billion Malampaya Fund to stave off the power crisis that energy officials expect next year.

At the same time, Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. said he saw no legal and constitutional questions to the government’s plan to make use of the Malampaya Fund and to grant special powers to President Aquino.

Barzaga, vice chair of the House committee on constitutional amendments, said that Presidential Decree 910 clearly provides that the Malampaya gas proceeds can be utilized for ‘energy-related’ purposes upon the directive of the president.

“Under the last paragraph of Section 8 of P.D. 910, all funds including government share representing royalties, rentals, production share on exploration, development and exploitation of energy resources, shall form part of the 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,” Barzaga said.

Barzaga stressed: “As it stands now legally, if the Malampaya funds shall be used for exploration, development and exploitation of energy resources, the President can legally do so pursuant to P.D. 910.”

“On the other hand, if the Malampaya funds shall used for other purposes other than exploration, development and exploitation of energy resources; then a concurrent or a joint resolution of the Senate and the House will be legally sufficient to allow the President to use such funds,” Barzaga added.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. had earlier said that tapping the Malampaya Fund as subsidy to spare the consuming public from paying the additional cost of electricity would be “an option” being eyed by the Lower House in the light of emergency powers demand of the President as suggested by Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla.

Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Rodel Batocabe, member for the majority of the House committee on natural resources, said if tapping the Malampaya fund would be the solution to the supposedly looming power crisis, then the Filipino people should be absolved from paying the additional cost of electricity. source