ALBAY Rep. Joey Salceda, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, yesterday urged the Senate to act on the proposed Philippine Downstream Natural Gas Industry (PDNGI) Development Act, a legislative priority of President Marcos Jr., which was already approved by the House of Representatives.
Salceda called on senators to approve House Bill No. 8456, which seeks to lay down state policy for the full development of the Philippine natural gas industry.
“It is a LEDAC and SONA priority, so I hope the Senate acts on it and we enact it before the midterms,” Salceda said. “The base version of the Senate bill under deliberation is the House version, so more or less I expect no major differences once it gets out of committee and plenary.”
The House-approved bill’s counterpart in the Senate is Senate Bill No. 2247, filed by Sen. Rafael Tulfo, which is still being reviewed by a technical working group (TWG).
SB 2247 seeks to promote the development of a comprehensive and integrated legislative policy that aids in the rapid development of the Philippines’ natural gas sector. Tulfo has said the bill would support the development of new wells in light of the depleting volume of gas from the Malampaya field which supplies 20 percent of Luzon’s electricity requirements.
Salceda said the bill’s passage would greatly help the environment since natural gas produces 32 to 40 percent less emission than coal when used for power generation. “It could help the transition away from coal as we wait for renewables to become cheaper and more dependable as baseload,” he said.
The veteran economist-lawmaker said legislation is needed to put in place a “full value chain with proper infrastructure.” He said safeguards should be made part of the state’s natural gas policy because “the key issue with natural gas is methane emissions.”
Salceda also said the bill’s enactment would help reduce Philippine dependence on imported fuel. “We can’t just be an importer and not have a regulatory regime or complementary infrastructure after importation. We need this law,” he said.
Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, chair of the House committee on energy who ia a co-author of the bill, said the proposed legislation “would promote the Philippines as a liquefied natural gas trading and transshipment hub in Asia Pacific.”
“The bill aims to promote the role of natural gas as a safe, environment-friendly, efficient and cost-effective source of energy,” the former Speaker said in the bill.
Velasco said the lack of a clear, comprehensive and integrated policy on the natural gas industry “is detrimental to the thrust of the Department of Energy to attract foreign investors to our natural gas potentials or importation or transmission of the same.”
Under HB No. 8456, the Department of Energy is mandated to be the lead government agency in implementing the proposed PDNGI.
The bill provides that the DOE’s role in the development of the Philippines’ natural gas industry shall include supervision and monitoring of the proposed system and regulate construction and operation of natural gas pipelines and other facilities for the transmission and supply of natural gas.
It also gives the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) “sole regulatory authority for setting rates and other terms covering natural gas supply.”
