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By Sammy Martin, Reporter
IT took almost two decades for lawmakers to pass
on third and final reading a measure to develop renewable energy
sources for the country’s energy needs, which is expected to
generate some $1.2 billion in energy savings and economic benefits
for Filipinos in the next 10 years.
The President’s son, Rep. Mikey Arroyo of
Pampanga, and Rep. Luis Villafuerte of Camarines Sur successfully
mustered the numbers to have House Bill 4193, otherwise known as
Development, Utilization and Commercialization of Renewable Energy
Resources of 2008, to be passed on third and final reading. HB 4193
was supported by administration and minority lawmakers.
The measure was first filed during the 8th
Congress when Corazon Aquino was president.
No less than 16 renewable energy measures and
resolutions were filed and referred to the Committee on Energy, of
which 14 were House bills. The committee began hearings on these
last November, and reported out the final measure on May 28.
Speaker Prospero Nograles expressed hope the
Senate would swiftly pass its counterpart measure. If the renewable
energy bill will be signed into a law, it will accelerate the
development of renewable energy sources already found in the country
like biomass, solar, wind, hydro, ocean energy or wave power, and
geothermal.
Besides providing fiscal and financial
incentives to encourage investors to go into renewable energy
development, the measure also directs the Department of Energy, the
National Power Corp. and other government agencies to develop and
institute a framework for propagating renewable energy, and to
seamlessly interconnect these energy sources into the national power
grid.
“I humbly ask for your support in approving
the renewable energy resources bill—the bill that will reduce our
dependence on imported petroleum products,” said Representative
Arroyo in his sponsorship speech.
Currently, the country relies on imported fuels
like crude oil derivatives and coal for 48 percent of its power
needs. The remaining 52 percent are sourced from indigenous sources
like local crude oil, biomass, hydropower, and geothermal energy.
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