| PGMA's Speech during the Oath Taking Ceremony of Atty. Raphael P.M. Lotilla as Secretary of the Department of Energy and Atty. Cyril C. Del Callar, President of the National Power Corporation |
Rizal Hall, Malacaņang (21 March 2005) |
| Ali Bin Ibrahim Al Naimi,
Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and members of
his delegation including Ambassador Wali; Secretary Lotilla; Secretary Perez; President
Del Callar; other government officials; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen: Today, our country welcomes two ministers of Energy: the Saudi Arabian Minister for Petroleum and Mineral Resources and the new Philippine Secretary of Energy. The two of them play a determining role at a time of threatened economic slowdown due to costlier oil. The best way to diminish the impact of rising prices is create new high-wage jobs, attract foreign investment, and bring overall economic stability to the nation. The government is doing these things as well as cutting wasteful government programs and limiting expenditures to necessary investments for infrastructure and people. In addition, the government is taking action to protect consumer rights, expand spot checks under the leadership of Vice President de Castro against price gouging, provide tax incentives to employers to help their employees with transportation costs, and revive conservation measures. And since we're an oil-importing country, diplomacy must be part of our tools for price stability. The role of the Philippines in the world is underscored again today by the visit of the honorable Saudi Arabian Minister of Petroleum. I've made foreign relations and engagement a hallmark of my administration in order to take the Philippines out of isolationism and encourage stronger economic ties with the region, with our Muslim brothers and with the world. Our friendship with Saudi Arabia includes oil as well as the millions of Filipinos who live and work in the Saudi Kingdom. Today, our discussions with minister Al Naimi have range far and wide. First and foremost, we've been sharing with the minister our deep concern about maintaining the price of affordable energy for all Filipinos. Saudi Arabia is doing everything within its power to keep the price of oil down, and I thank him for that. I thanked him for the Saudi Arabian government insistence on increasing oil production among the OPEC countries. But also in addition to that he informed me that his majesty the King of Saudi Arabia gave specific instructions to ensure that developing countries like the Philippines specially do not suffer from high oil prices. And I thank the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for that. I also thank the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and their company, Aramco, who is a partner in Petron for the important investments that were told to me during our lunch meeting which will certainly help give us control of our energy future. Taking control of our energy future means taking control of our economic future. Energy independence is a key pillar of our efforts to stamp out poverty and diminish the impact of rising prices. Next to new revenue measures and stamping out corruption in revenue generation, the privatization of the power sector is the most important building block of our fiscal reforms. And that's the responsibility of our new president of the National Power Corporation. With regard to all these measures the patience of the people is wearing thin for these macroeconomic reforms to be fulfilled and translated into improvements in the life of the average Filipino. We cannot hope to build a strong energy sector if it's built on a foundation of quicksand, which is precisely what will happen if we don't get the VAT and privatization revenues soon. We're doing our part on revenue anti-corruption reforms and power sector privatization, and we are counting on Congress to do their part. I can assure you that Secretary Lotilla and Napocor President Del Callar and the team 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. The privatization of the National Power Corporation, through the sale of its generation assets and the transmission company 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. In our quest for energy independence, we will use a mix of oil and gas exploration and production, renewable energy development, alternative fuel development, and strong strategic alliances like the one we're forging with Saudi Arabia to ensure that we can become more energy self-reliant. The objective of our power sector reforms are to reduce the cost of electricity and make it competitive with the rest of the region without sacrificing adequacy, reliability and quality. 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. Given the central role energy plays in our economy, our new secretary of Energy and our new president of the National Power Corporation are central players in our economic turnaround and key members of my economic team. Welcome and congratulations! Popo and Cyril. Thank you. |