PGMA's Speech during the Presentation of the Signed Tripartite Agreement for Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking between China, Vietnam and the Philippines and Awarding Ceremony for Outstanding Electric Cooperatives and General Managers

Rizal Hall, Malacañang (14 March 2005)

Thank you, Vince. And above all, before anything, thank you for a job well done as Secretary of Energy.

Speaker De Venecia and other officials, incoming Secretary Popo Lotilla, our friends from China and Vietnam, members of the diplomatic corps representing the countries that are very much involved in our energy program, father Silva and Edith Bueno, movers and shakers of the energy industry, awardees, ladies and gentlemen:

Congratulations! To our outstanding electric cooperatives. Congratulations! To the recipients of our award of distinguished government service. And I would like to add there, incumbent chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Fe Barin. Congratulations! To all the institutions of the energy sector for the tough actions and tough decisions you have had to make in the past 4 years.

And of course, Vince, thank you, for your personal sacrifice. Thank you Leigh for your personal sacrifice throughout these four years. Thank you for your passion for rural electrification. Thank you for your composure in dealing with difficult energy issues. And thank you that we haven't had a blackout in Luzon for a long time now.

And thank you and congratulations! To Vince, to Ed Mañalac, to the presidents of the oil companies of China and Vietnam and the diplomats. Thank you for today's historic signing done earlier and presented here of the agreement between the oil companies of Philippines, China and Vietnam on joint seismic research in the South China Sea. Speaker De Venecia came just to witness that turnover to Secretary Perez of the agreement. This is a historic event because it is the first... It is the breakthrough in implementing the provisions of the code of conduct in the South China Sea among ASEAN and China to turn the south china sea into an area of cooperation rather than an area of conflict. And I congratulate everyone involved for the successful negotiation. Not only is it a diplomatic breakthrough for peace and security in the region, it is also a breakthrough for our energy independence program because one of the elements of this program is to work on strategic alliances with our friends and allies so that we can have more supply of energy for the region and our country.

A strong independent energy sector is essential to economic growth and job creation in the Philippines. Taking control of our energy future means taking control of our economic future. Nothing is more important than economic self-reliance.

Energy independence is a key pillar of our efforts to stamp out poverty. Achieving independence will ensure that we preserve capital to invest in the infrastructure that will create jobs and economic opportunity to all parts of our nation.

Energy independence can only be achieved through a predictable energy policy that serves the needs of our people and industry. And I can assure you that we will do everything possible to ensure that energy is affordable and sustainable and to promote investment and further development of this important sector of our economy.

Energy independence requires implementation of critical and strategic energy infrastructure projects. We will use a mix of oil and gas exploration and production, renewable energy development, alternative fuel development, and strong strategic alliances such as what we have signed with China and Vietnam to ensure that we can become energy self-reliant.

The objective of our power sector reforms is to reduce the cost of electricity and to make it competitive with the rest of the Southeast Asian region without sacrificing adequacy, reliability and quality. I'm committed to continuing to push through the reforms that will make this possible.

And let me also be clear: as we grow our energy sector, so too will we grow our commitment to clean energy production and a clean environment. The health and safety of our citizens is as important as stable, affordable and sustainable energy production.

Our revenue generation priorities don't stop at new tax measures. The privatization of Napocor through the sale of its generation assets and the Transco concession will not only reduce a drain on public sector revenues, it will also produce revenue that can be used to invest in the infrastructure that will grow our economy and create new jobs.

The first 12 to 18 months of my current term constitute the first phase of our 6-year 10-point program. This phase one, aimed at balancing the budget before the end of my term, consists of fiscal reforms. And in turn our fiscal reforms focus on passing revenue measures -- thank you, Speaker De Venecia -- plugging corruption leakages and rationalizing the power sector.

In a few days, a new secretary will be joining our team. In fact, given the central role energy plays in our economy, the incoming secretary will be a central player in our economic turnaround. The eyes of the nation and the world will be upon him.

To the whole energy team, those that Vince will bequeath to his successor, I ask you all -- join me in meeting the challenges of rationalizing the power sector as a key component of our fiscal reforms which will pave the way for educational reforms, infrastructure reforms, energy independence and ultimately, the success of our ten-point program to create jobs and defeat poverty.

Once more, to Vince, congratulations!

Thank you and mabuhay!

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