For lack of a nail, the shoe fell off

Rep. Ignacio Arroyo Saturday came out with a startling development. Potential American investors had backed out from a local ethanol project because President George Bush had come out hard that the US will shift to the manufacture of alternative fuels because of the rising prices of oil.

Here, we are still talking about the National Biofuel Program. The Senate is reportedly poised to pass the measure by May, this year. The principal sponsor is Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago.

Arroyo's statement was confirmed by the report of Gaston Cantena, vice president of the Florida Crystals of Palm Beach, stating that "ethanol has been on the radar screen of sugar growers for sometime."

He attributed this to the fact that Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, brother of the US president, is "pro-renewable energy" and has reportedly been calling on the state's farmers to fuel palm by urging cane, peanut, sorghum and citrus growers to help produce more energy.

This reportedly stimulates sugarcane growers despite the fact that under the present federal support program, it is more expensive to produce ethanol from sugarcane than other feedstock such as corn.

As I had previously mentioned, for more than a year now, we have been talking about ethanol and how to produce this alternative fuel from sugarcane, which we have in abundance. But that's all there is to it. Until now, Congress has to flesh out the measure without which no investor is going to put in his money on the project.

Offhand, the problem seems simple enough. We mix initially five percent of ethanol with gasoline. But that means that the oil firms must be mandated to do so. And there must be incentives for them to do so. In short, they must not be forced to lose their profits. For that matter, the incentive includes their being able to earn more from it than what they now are enjoying from their production of gasoline or diesel fuel.

Then, there is the problem of adequate supply of sugarcane for an ethanol plant. Say, for a venture to be profitable, it must be able to produce about 25 million liters per annum.

That means an area that can generate 300,000 tons. That is feasible insofar as the San Carlos mill district is concerned because the sugar mill there is closed permanently. But how about the other areas of Negros Occidental?

You cannot withdraw that much sugarcane for ethanol while the price of sugar remains high. In short, you just don't shift to and from ethanol anytime either the production of sugar or ethanol brings more income to the producers of sugarcane.

Such a policy undercuts the viability of an industrial investment. In short, there is an imperative need for producers to receive the best price for their every ton of sugarcane. The buying must not be lower than what they could get from sugar production. At the present rate, it should be the equivalent of about P1,200 per LKG of raw sugar.

At any rate, the prospects are bright for ethanol. And sugar producers need not quibble too much over how much they can get out of their product. There always will be enough for everybody.

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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will visit Negros Occidental on April 28. But, perhaps, the President may arrive here only after a visit to the hometown fiesta of Antique Governor Sally Zaldivar Perez in Pandan, that province.

Undersecretary Gamaliel A. Cordova, head of the Presidential Appointment Office, confirmed the President's acceptance of the invitation from Governor Perez. During her visit, GMA is expected to inaugurate the Calixto O. Zaldivar Memorial Hospital. This in honor of the governor's father, the late Chief Justice. Justice Zaldivar was named head of the tribunal by former President Diosdado Macapagal after the latter's stint in Malacañang as former executive secretary.

The President's last visit to Antique was in January 2005. Then she inaugurated two concrete bridges - Cangaranan Bridge in Barangay Ilaures of Bugasong, and Dalanas Bridge connecting the towns of Barbaza and Tibiao. She also inaugurated the Valderrama farm-to-market road, said Governor Perez.

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Look now. Sammy Palanca has given the go-signal for the construction of the new hotel and condominium to replace the Bacolod Pavilion. Work is now going full blast.

But other than that, his design architect is also busy drawing up the plans for the lay-in hospital where women can deliver their children and move out within days of childbirth.

Some members of the Bacolod Sanggunian seem hell bent on penny- counting without taking into consideration the amount the city government would lose if they pushed through with their plan to take over the BREDCO port for imagined violations.

These latest Palanca development projects alone will mean the city will rake in more money later on.*

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