|
By Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo, Reporter
Former energy officials on Friday defended the
Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) agreement entered into by
the Philippine government with China on the Spratly Islands because
it will to transform the contested regional powder keg into an area
of cooperation and development.
In a joint statement, former Energy Secretary
Vince Perez and former Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC)
President Eduardo Mañalac, under whose terms the agreement was
signed, even clarified that “no exploration, drilling, and
production activities were covered by the agreement.”
The JMSU was signed in 2005 as a commercial
agreement between state-run firms PNOC with China National Offshore
Oil Corp. and PetroVietnam to jointly acquire seismic data in the
area. It will lapse this year.
Government critics have been up in arms lately
against the JMSU saying that the agreement compromised national
sovereignty.
“The JMSU is simply a data gathering effort
among the three oil companies. The JMSU is not a treaty,” they
said.
They added President Gloria Arroyo did not sign
the JMSU. But the approval of the respective governments of the
three oil companies was required to make the commercial agreement
binding.
“The JMSU explicitly stated that the signing
of the commercial agreement shall not undermine the position held by
the Philippine government over the South China Sea,” the officials
added.
However, an exploration firm’s petroleum
project in offshore Palawan was said to have been put on the back
burner after the Chinese claimed it as part of a “conflict area”
in the Spratly Islands that is under a tripartite deal.
UK-listed Forum Energy PLC is still awaiting
government action on the upgrading of its oil exploration contract
in offshore Palawan into a full service contract.
Malacañang slams Drilon
At Malacañang, Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo
criticized former Senate President Franklin Drilon for disclosing
that Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, then President Gloria
Arroyo’s chief legal counsel, approached him (Drilon) to seek
advice on the possible harm of the Spratly islands deal to the chief
executive.
“Topnotch lawyers like former Justice
Secretary Drilon know how to rest the validity of any agreement. Not
by citing hearsay, but by raising the matter in the Supreme Court.
Why does the opposition keep resorting to press statements and
partisan hearings?” Saludo said.
Drilon disclosed on Thursday that Gutierrez,
then President Arroyo’s chief legal counsel, had said the deal
might be in violation of the Constitution and could be grounds for
President Arroyo’s impeachment.
Drilon said he is supporting the planned
congressional inquiries into the Spratlys deal, and is even willing
to testify on the conversations he had with Gutierrez.
Senate President Manny Villar and Senator
Panfilo Lacson are calling for an inquiry on the Spratly islands
agreement.
-- With Angelo S. Samonte
|
