Senate President Manuel Villar Saturday said a win-win solution should be reached to give the country's biofuels program, which includes the production of ethanol from sugarcane in Negros Occidental, a chance.

Villar, who made a brief stop in Bacolod in his way to Iloilo City , was reacting to concern raised that the production of biofuel that is land-based could cause food shortages.

The Biofuels Act when passed was a good concept because of the rising prices for gasoline and the boost it would give to farmers, he said.

However, lately it has been discovered that in other countries where biofuels are being produced prices off food went up, he said.

But he said if the country proceeds with caution in implementing its biofuels program and with proper guidelines in place such problem can be averted in the Philippines .

Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, the author of the Biofuels Act in the House, Friday said the production of ethanol from sugarcane would in fact save the country's sugar industry from collapse when tariffs on imports are lifted in 2010.

With the entry of cheap imported sugar into the Philippines when the tariffs are lifted, at least an alternative use of sugarcane for ethanol will be in place, he said.

Villar also noted that the growing of jatropha for biodiesel would not be a threat to the country's food supply since it is not something people eat.

Discussion on concern over the production of biofuels could be done quietly so as not to scare off biofuels investors, he said.

PRESIDENCY

Asked if he is running for the presidency in 2010, he said it is too early to make any announcement.

“It is a very practical strategy not to be announcing ones plans too early because in reality it would be a very expensive exercise to start now,” he said.

So many things can happen in two years, what is important is for him to do good in his job in the Senate to prove his worth by 2010, he said.

Villar heads the Nacionalista Party, while his likely opponent for the presidency, Senator Mar Roxas, heads the Liberal Party.

Villar said it would be healthier for Philippine politics if a two-party system were restored.

He noted that in the past with the LP and NP as the two main political parties of the country, presidential aspirants were chosen by their peers.

NEW AIRPORT

Villar who arrived in Negros Occidental through the New Bacolod Silay Airport Saturday said its construction was a good move by the Arroyo administration.

But he lamented the downgrading of the Philippine civil aviation by the United States Federal Aviation Administration.

“The downgrading should not have happened, it is something that is very bad for the country,” he said.

He said the law creating the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines is not what was immediately needed to save the country from the downgrade, but the administration's release of funds to address the civil aviation upgrade sought by the FAA.

The downgrade will affect the country's tourism industry he said.*CPG

back to top