Rep. Joey Salceda INQUIRER PHOTO/NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines — Albay Representative Joey Salceda has urged their colleagues in the Senate to act on its counterpart measure for House Bill (HB) No. 8456, or the proposed Philippine Downstream Natural Gas Industry Development Act, as it would bode well for the country’s energy demands.
Salceda in a statement on Monday said that HB No. 8456 was marked as a priority bill of the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac), noting that it was also mentioned during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s previous State of the Nation Address (Sona).
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HB No. 8456 was passed on third reading by the House last August 2, 2023. In the Senate, Senators Raffy Tulfo and Imee Marcos each filed a bill focused on the downstream industry, but it is still pending at the committee level.
“It is a Ledac and Sona priority, so I hope the Senate acts on it and we enact it before the midterms,” Salceda, who heads the House committee on ways, said.
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No major differences
“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,” he added.
If HB No. 8456 is not amended and is signed into law, the Department of Energy (DOE) will be tasked with the responsibility of “supervising and monitoring the development” of the PDNG (Philippine Downstream Natural Gas) Industry.
It also sets guidelines on how to harvest, store, and use natural gas, and set ownership rules within the said industry.
“Towards this end, the DOE shall perform the following powers and functions: (a) Prepare the PDNG DevPlan, incorporating therein the plans submitted by public and private stakeholders after open discussions and consultations with them, within two (2) 22 years from the effectivity of this Act, and reviewed and updated every three (3) years after 23 its adoption,” the bill read.
Salceda said this proposal is important considering the country’s growing energy needs, and the need for an energy source that is clean — noting that natural gas produces 32-40 percent less emission than coal.
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Calamity
Just last Thursday, Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla called the frequent red and yellow alerts affecting the country’s power grids a calamity already. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said other administrations forgot about power generation, noting that the country is only catching up now in terms of power infrastructure.
“It could help the transition away from coal as we wait for renewables to become cheaper and more dependable as baseload,” Salceda said.
“We can’t just be an importer and not have a regulatory regime or complementary infrastructure after importation. We need this law,” he added.
Currently, the DOE has no clear policy on the use of natural gas, prompting lawmakers like former speaker and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco — who chairs the House committee on energy — to file the bill seeking to develop the country’s natural gas industry
“The bill aims to promote the role of natural gas as a safe, environment-friendly, efficient and cost-effective source of energy,” Velasco said in his bill’s explanatory note.