Senator Alan Peter Cayetano called for a ‘Filipino gas first’ policy, stressing that the Philippine Natural Gas Development Act is crucial for achieving long-term energy security as the country shifts towards cleaner energy sources.
This statement came after his interpellation with Senator Win Gatchalian recently regarding Senate Bill 2793, a measure sponsored by Committee on Energy chair Senator Pia Cayetano that is focused on supporting the development of indigenous natural gas.
“Let’s make the Philippine Natural Gas Development Act the best bill possible hindi lang para hindi tayo magkamali, pero para y’ung direksyon natin bilang bansa ay mas mabilis tayong magkaroon ng security sa larangan ng energy,” Cayetano said.
Stressing the urgency of passing the bill, the veteran legislator fully supported Senator Pia’s call for harnessing local natural resources to achieve energy security in the country, citing the challenges in securing energy supplies, particularly in light of recent global crises.
“Tuwing magkaka-giyera at nakita rin natin noong COVID-19 pandemic na napaka-vulnerable natin hindi lang sa supply chain sa mga produkto pati na rin sa energy dahil nga ‘yung oil, coal, and natural gas ay ini-import natin,” the seasoned lawmaker said.
“Developing the country’s own indigenous natural gas will mitigate the reliance on imported liquefied natural gas.”
The senator said developing the country’s own indigenous natural gas will mitigate the reliance on imported liquefied natural gas which are highly volatile in terms of pricing.
“Iyon po ang ating hinihimay, kung paano i-promote na magkaroon pa tayo ng mas magandang supply sa natural gas,” he said.
Cayetano said prompt and decisive action is needed because developing the country’s own natural gas sources is a long-term process.
“I cannot really predict what’s going to happen in three years but unless there is technology that makes wind and solar sources capable of powering the whole country twenty-four-seven, and unless yung national grid natin ay maayos yung capability, I would assume that putting up a power plant would take the usual three to five years, and setting up a well for natural gas could take three to seven years,” he said.
“That’s how urgent this bill is,” Cayetano added.
He urged the government to actively support the bill’s objectives to develop and realize the full potential of the country’s indigenous natural gas while our renewable energy technology is still developing.
“As technologies for solar and wind energy are still being developed, I believe this bill points us in the right direction for the transition.”
“As technologies for solar and wind energy are still being developed, I believe this bill points us in the right direction for the transition,” Cayetano said.
“This is something that can really move us forward,” he concluded.
