Outgoing Senate Committee on Energy Chairman has called on the incoming officials of the Department of Energy (DOE) to strictly uphold the existing laws and regulations following the entry of Prime Infastructure Holdings Inc. into the Malampaya gas-to-power project.
“The law is clear – that Department Circular 2007-04-0003 mandates that the rights and obligations under a petroleum service contract executed under Presidential Decree 87 shall not be assigned or transferred without prior approval of the DOE,” Gatchalian said in a statement.
The senator also urged the DOE to “protect the interest of the nation above everything else” before giving its consent to the sale.
Gatchalian led in the investigation of the controversial sale of the majority stake of the Malampaya, which led to the recommendation of civil and criminal charges against outgoing Energy secretary Alfonso Cusi and other officials for “railroading” the sale.
“The mere fact that the business unit of Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corp., which took over the 45% stake of Chevron Malampaya LLC, is now disposing of its hold in the gas field project negates the DOE’s earlier assertions that UC Malampaya Philippines Pte. Ltd. was financially and technically capable from the very beginning,” Gatchalian said.
Last week, Prime Infra announced that it is poised to acquire a controlling stake in the Malampaya from Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corporation. Gatchalian believes that Prime Infra is willing to go through the process and is open to being “scrutinized under existing regulatory approval processes to ensure that the deal to be sealed is above board.”
“We expect transparency on the part of Prime Infra in dealing with government regulations to make the transfer of interest binding and effective. The future of our energy security is at stake in the years to come,” Gatchalian said.
Gatchalian will step down as chair of the Committee on Energy come to the end of the 18th Congress. Senator-elect Raffy Tulfo is set to take his place.
