Department of Energy Sec. Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla —Senate PRIB
The DOE will review the implications of a Supreme Court ruling invalidating a 2005 tripartite agreement signed by the government with China and Vietnam on joint exploration in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
The Department of Energy (DOE) will review the implications of a Supreme Court ruling invalidating a 2005 tripartite agreement signed by the government with China and Vietnam on joint exploration in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla told reporters on Thursday that he could not rule out the possibility that the court decision meant that the Philippines “cannot enter into an agreement with a friendly country for further exploration in different parts of the country.”
In January, the high tribunal nullified the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) deal among China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), Vietnam Oil and Gas Corp. (PetroVietnam) and Philippine National Oil Co. for seismic work on a 142,886-square-kilometer area in the WPS.
“Seismic work” refers to the collection and processing of 2D and/or 3D seismic lines in the agreement area.
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According to the high court, the agreement signed in March 2005 violated Section 2, Article 12 of the 1987 Constitution for “allowing wholly owned foreign corporations to participate in the exploration of the country’s natural resources without observing the safeguards” provided under the law.
CNOOC is a state-owned oil company in China while PetroVietnam is owned by Vietnam.
The ruling was based on a petition filed in 2008 by then Bayan Muna Representatives Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casiño and other legislators questioning the constitutionality of the JMSU.
Lotilla said the DOE had yet to meet with different agencies to discuss the implications of the court ruling, considering that the Department of Justice (DOJ) last year allowed full foreign ownership of renewable energy projects in the country.
“We are a vastly under-explored country in terms of gas and oil, and so every effort to explore the potential [of these resources] is there,” he said.
When asked whether the court ruling could affect the DOJ’s opinion, the DOE said that renewable energy resources were not covered by Section 2, Article 12 of the Constitution.
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