Press Release
17 January 2007
MIRIAM HAILS PASSAGE OF HER BIOFUELS BILL INTO LAW
Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, chair of the Senate energy committee, today hailed the passage into law of the Biofuels Act of 2007.
The senator was the author and principal sponsor of the measure in the Senate.
Speaking during the ceremonial signing of the measure in Malacañang today, Santiago said that the Biofuels Act is expected to reduce the country’s overdependence on imported oil.
According to her, since 1994, the Philippines has imported an annual average of 120 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products. In 2004 alone, the country imported 126 million barrels of foreign oil valued at $5 billion or Php280 billion.
Santiago said that the Biofuels Act aims to improve the country’s energy efficiency while bolstering independence from imported fossil fuel.
She said that within two years from the effectivity of the new law, a minimum of 5% ethanol fuel by volume shall be blended into all gasoline fuel distributed and sold in the country. Within four years, the Philippine Biofuel Board (PBB) shall determine the feasibility of mandating a total of 10% blend of bioethanol by volume.
Santiago also said that immediately upon the effectivity of the implementing rules and regulations of the Biofuels Act, a minimum of 1% biodiesel by volume shall be blended into all diesel engine fuels sold in the country.
The senator also said that the use of biofuels will be good for the environment as it will mitigate toxic and greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.
The passage of this important law comes in the wake of the signing by Asian leaders of the Cebu Declaration on East Asian Energy Security during the ASEAN Summit. Among the goials stressed in the Declaration are the reduction of the region’s dependence on fossil fuels and the promotion of the use of alternative energy sources. The Declaration was endorsed by leaders from Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan, China, and South Korea.
Santiago also stressed the economic benefits to be reaped from the new law. She said that an important consequence of the passage of the Biofuels Act is the improvement in the lives of farmers as more crops—corn, sugar, or straw—are needed to generate biofuels. This will generate more jobs, raise farmers’ incomes, and reinvigorate the countryside. -o0o-