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Speaking
during the closing ceremonies of the Philippine Energy
Summit at the SMEX Convention Center in Pasay City, Mrs.
Arroyo said the government will look for ways to subsidize
the electricity cost for the poor.
The VAT refund was one of the recommendations of the more
than 2,500 participants coming from the business
community, the academe and other groups during the
four-day energy summit. The summit is aimed at mitigating
the effects of rising fuel prices and finding new and
sustainable energy sources.
Mrs. Arroyo said the refund could be sourced from the
government shares of the Malampaya natural gas project in
Palawan and revenue from the privatization of the National
Power Corp. (NAPOCOR) and National Transmission Corp.
(TRANSCO).
She added that government’s privatization efforts is
leading to “windfall proceeds”, which will subsidize
power cost.
The President said the government earned more than $2
billion from the sale of four NAPOCOR power generation
plants.
Raul Concepcion, chairman of the Consumer and Oil Price
Watch, said the government could give discounts to poor
families on their electricity bills. He also pushed for a
discount on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for poor
households.
The President urged independent power distributors in the
country to cooperate in facilitating “open access” to
make local electricity costs competitive.
Open access can only happen upon the privatization of 70
percent of NAPOCOR assets.
Reyes
eyes Renewable Energy Bill
Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes urged the administration to
immediately pass the Renewable Energy Bill, which seeks to
promote the use of biogas and other alternative fuels in
the country.
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Senate committee on energy
chairman, has vowed that the bill will be passed within
the year.
Santiago believes that the bill, after having been pending
at both houses of Congress for several years, has gotten a
lot of support. "There will be no problem in the
Senate, as more than half of the members are, themselves,
authors of the Renewable Energy Bill," she said.
Santiago
also clarified that she did not commission any review on
the Biofuels Act of 2007 and "will just let the law
remain as it is."
She said the new bill that would be passed could have
provisions that would heighten and complement the use of
biofuels.
Santiago said that she does not foresee a nuclear energy
bill in the Senate.
"The problem with nuclear power is that it raises the
issue of how to safeguard the nuclear fuel development and
distribution process. Furthermore, current weapons and
nuclear stockpiles must be comprehensibly inventoried and
monitored," she said.
Source
: ABS CBN News -
Philippines, dated 05/02/2008
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