October 29, 2018 | 10:06 pm
SENATOR
Sherwin T. Gatchalian on Monday said he will seek the retention of incentives
provided to the renewable energy and oil exploration industry, amid proposals
to withdraw them under the second package of the tax reform program.
He said incentives will
help the country achieve energy security and self-sufficiency.
“What industry
proponents wants is status quo… incentives given to oil and gas as well as renewable
energy… are very important for our energy security,” he told reporters in a mix
of English and Filipino after the legislative hearing on energy security and
self-sufficiency.
“I will fight for it
because this is important for the future of our country… We would be pitiful as
a country if we continue to import. We have a big potential for renewable
energy as well as oil and gas in our country,” he added.
The second package of
the tax reform eliminates the fiscal incentives provided under Presidential Decree
87 for the oil exploration industry and Republic Act No. 9513 or the Renewable
Energy Law of 2008.
Mr. Gatchalian said the
keeping the incentives would allow more private investors to venture into oil
exploration and to build facilities for renewable energy resources. This, in
effect, would lower the country’s dependence on imported energy sources.
According to the
Department of Energy (DoE), the Philippines imports more than 90% of its
petroleum products, primarily from the Middle East and Malaysia but also
processed items from Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea.
During the Senate
hearing, stakeholders pointed to unstable policies in the power industry that
hindered the country from achieving energy self-sufficiency and security.
Petroleum Association
of the Philippines (PAP) Vice-President Ed Cutiongco urged Congress to ensure
that the perks in Presidential Decree 87 are “as stable as possible” to attract
more companies to the oil exploration industry.
“We are confident that
renewed exploration and development incentives and programs of the government
(will bring) in more capital (and ultimately) we can reduce energy dependency
by a substantial amount if we get good support and incentives from government,”
he said.
Aside from incentives,
Developers for Renewable Energy for Advancement, Inc. (DREAM) President Jose M.
Layug, Jr. cited the bureaucratic process of obtaining permits to operate in
the power industry as well as the lack of uniformity in the policies of energy
agencies.
“When you talk about
uniform regulation, uniform competitive selection process rules. All the
investors have been asking because DoE has its own set of rules, ERC (Energy
Regulatory Commission) has its own set of rules, NEA (National Electrification
Administration) and of course the Senate has its own bill. There’s no
uniformity,” he said.
Department of Finance
(DoF) Fiscal Policy and Planning Director IV Elsa P. Agustin said, “The
Department of Finance is of the opinion that it doesn’t want anymore the grant
of piecemeal incentives. It would like to place all incentives in just one law
and (leave) the Department of Trade and Industry and the Board of Investment to
pick the winners based on performance…. The game now is with the Senate.” — Camille
A. Aguinaldo
No comments:
Post a Comment