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PGMA's Speech during the Signing Ceremony of Republic Act 9513 or the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 |
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Rizal Hall, Malacañang |
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16 December 2008 |
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Thank you Secretary Ermita for your introduction. Other members of the Cabinet with special mention to the DOE family; Senate President Enrile and Senator Angara and Senator Zubiri; Speaker Nograles; members of the House of Representatives especially the members of the Senate Energy Committee; my son Congressman Mikey and Congressman Villafuerte and the other members of the House Energy Committee; our Deputy Speakers: Raul Del Mar and Girlie Villarosa; Majority Leader Art Defensor; Monico Puentevella and the other congressmen and congresswomen who worked so hard and supported this first and most comprehensive Energy Law in Southeast Asia. Congratulations! and thank you. Members of the Diplomatic Corps, environment NGOs and private companies, committed private companies for your support and for highlighting the effects of climate change and the benefits of Renewable Energy, thank you. And as I said to the Secretary of the DOE Angie Reyes and to the whole DOE Family, congratulations! The global spike in the price of rice food and fuel a few months ago put tremendous pressure on Filipinos, but we responded to this challenge in a swift, measured and targeted manner. We assisted the transport sector, so that transport fare hikes would be minimal and rolled back when fuel prices went down again. There is indeed a global economic crisis, but fortunately, through a mix of careful planning, congressional economic reforms and the hard work of many people, including Congress, we were able to prevent the global crisis from becoming a Philippine crisis. The fact that we have avoided the crisis that is plaguing the rest of the world is a testament to the tough choices we made together with Congress several years ago. Economic reform has been the central pillar of our coalition administration. It is because we took the politically unpopular move to raise new revenue that we have been able to generate additional resources and invest in physical and human infrastructure, roads, bridges, ports and expanded access to healthcare, improved education and social services, including targeted subsidies to help the poor and the ordinary Filipinos from price shocks and economic pressures. These are helping to provide a social safety net at a time when it is most needed. And these actions taken by Congress where there even before the hint of a global crisis. They are now serving us so well. We are fortunate because through this congressional actions we have a cushion in place to help the poor. But new revenue measures are only part of the equation. We have also focused on building up new industries like the biofuels industry, encouraged by last January’s Biofuels Act, and now the renewable energy industry through our bill signing today. The Biofuels Act made a significant contribution to our energy self-sufficiency program. And it will make our country one of the 15 most attractive destinations for biofuels investment. From 45 percent before our administration, we have become 57 percent self-sufficient in energy, and we aim to reach 60 percent by 2010. Thanks in part to previous legislation and also in part to industries developing our renewable energy resources. We are the second largest geothermal power producer in the world. We have the highest wind potential power in the world. We also have high solar power penetration and abundant hydropower and biomass resources. So now with our Renewable Energy Act we can move aggressively to develop these resources. In fact, there have been big leaps in renewable energy throughout the world in recent years. Last year when renewable energy reaped a milestone --71 billion dollars in investments --even oil giants like Abu Dhabi put up a special renewable energy corporation. So our new Renewable Energy Act will enable us to capture a part of this investment inflow through what you have given: tax holidays, tax credits and other incentives for companies engaged in renewable energy development and distribution. And this is also timely because it mitigates climate change. There are efforts… all of these efforts are working to improve the overall quality of life of the Filipino people. But we must continue on a path of fiscal discipline, targeted investments and targeted relief to the poor as we weather this global storm. And that gives us the legislative agenda for our new Senate President, Senator Juan Ponce Enrile and the Speaker Nograles and all of our congressman and senators. This dawn we arrived from Doha and Abu Dhabi. And it is important to underscore that thus far employment abroad remains strong. Very few of our expatriates have lost their jobs. In fact, employment overseas has held steady. Some jobs have gone, about a little more than a thousand, but new jobs are being created like the 37,000 needed in Qatar. So at this point, there is no need to panic. That said, we never want even one of our hardworking Filipinos to lose a job. So, we are closely monitoring the impact of the global economic situation on our workers. We will not hesitate to take any action required to help them wherever they may be, abroad or at home. We are also developing retraining programs that can prepare our workers for employment in the Philippines should that be required. We are also taking our professional licensure examinations, particularly engineering license examinations to selected international locations where large expat worker populations are present so they can move up the career ladder there or in the Philippines should they need to do so or should they wish to do so. So, during this holiday season, as we sign this bill into law, let us thank Congress for giving a wonderful gift to the Filipino people and let us congratulate our great Filipino worker because from what I have seen they are the first to be hired and the last to be retrenched. But we long for the day when we will have enough jobs in the Philippines, so that work abroad will only be a career choice --you know, like Vince, it’s a career choice --and not the only option for a hardworking Filipino. That is economic independence and part of economic independence is also energy independence. So we thank Congress for providing us yet another great milestone in our aspiration for energy independence. Congratulations, Congress! And to all of you, Merry Christmas! Maraming Salamat. |