President Rodrigo Duterte continues its commitment to streamlining the energy sector at the forefront of his priority agenda with Executive Order (EO) No. 39, which mandates current Energy Chief Alfonso Cusi as the official chair of the PNOC (Philippine National Oil Company) Exploration Corporation (PNOC-EC) and PNOC Renewables Corporation (PNOC-RC).
The latest EO was signed last September 5, Tuesday, the Philippine News Agency reports.
“The Department of Energy (DOE), PNOC, PNOC-EC, and PNOC-RC shall, in the most expeditious manner allowed by existing laws and rules, undertake all such actions as may be necessary to implement the provision of this Order, which may include the amendment of the company By-Laws,” EO 39 stated.
This move reiterates Republic Act (RA) No. 7638, which dictates the state-run oil firm be placed under DOE’s supervision for “close policy coordination” between the PNOC subsidiaries.
RA No. 7638 or “The Department of Energy Act of 1992” grants the Energy Secretary executive powers over the PNOC units “in a concurrent capacity, as its ex officio Chairman of the Board, unless otherwise directed by the President.”
“In view of the respective mandates of the PNOC-EC and the PNOC-RC to, among others, explore, produce, and utilize petroleum and renewable energy sources as stated in their Articles of Incorporation, there is a need for close policy coordination between those corporations and the DOE in order to achieve the national policy of energy self-reliance,” the Palace EO affirmed.
PNOC-EC and PNOC-RC are both under the government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) and sister subsidiaries under parent firm PNOC.
PNOC-EC is involved primarily in the exploration and commercial developments of indigenous resources like oil, gas, and coal. It also serves as the minority interest stakeholder with 10% stake in the Malampaya Deepwater Gas-to-Power Project.
PNOC-RC, on the other hand, develops and promotes the use renewable energy resources through partnerships in the private sector.
The PNOC owns 99.79 percent of PNOC-EC, while it has full ownership of PNOC-RC.