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Instead of subsidies on diesel prices, the Department
of Energy is calling for the establishment of a fund that the public
transport sector can draw from, to convert their vehicles to run on
alternative fuel.
The proposal came on the heels of
a clamor from various groups, both private and public institutions,
for the government to impose a P2 discount on diesel in light of the
unabated increase in oil prices worldwide.
However, Energy Secretary Angelo
Reyes said that the amount government would be shouldering from such
a move would be better off used for the conversion of public
transport vehicles to run using other cheaper fuel sources such as
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and compressed natural gas (CNG).
“The amount could better be
used to set up a fund through which the transport operators and
drivers can borrow to finance the conversion of their transport
vehicles,” he said.
LPG and CNG, which are commonly
used for cooking and heating purposes, when used for vehicles cost
roughly less than a third and by half, respectively, than their
regular fuel counterparts. Aside from being cheaper, the said
alternative fuels are relatively less harmful to the environment.
Raul T. Conception, Consumer Oil
Price Watch (COPW) chairman, earlier said that public transport
should take a look at these types of fuels, CNG in particular,
because of the said benefits they can cull from them, especially
since the country can tap the Malampaya natural-gas field for its
fuel supply.
He added that if the shift to CNG
pushes through, it would take three years for the transport sector,
which currently accounts for more than half of the country’s total
oil requirements, to recoup their investments.
However, public transport would
have to compete with the power sector, which is seen as a more
viable market for the giant gas field. Malampaya currently fuels
three power plants in the country and the construction of a fourth
one is already being lined up.
-- Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo
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