House Speaker Prospero Nograles yesterday gave marching orders to the House Committee on Energy, of which five solons from Negros Occidental are members, to conduct marathon sessions and expedite the passage of various measures that would protect the public and Filipino consumers from the spiraling cost of fuel and electricity.

Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella, Energy Committee vice chairman, yesterday said now that Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo (Pampanga, 2nd District), who chairs the committee, has returned  from abroad, they can get down to work.

To cushion the effects of the rising prices of fuel among the solutions being eyed are the suspension of the Value Added Tax on oil and the possibility of the government’s reacquiring control of Petron, of which it owns a big chunk, he said.

Other Negros Occidental representatives on the Committee on Energy are Alfredo Marañon III (2nd District), Jose Carlos Lacson (3rd District), Jeffrey Ferrer (4th District) and Ignacio Arroyo Jr. (5th District).

Ferrer said congress needs to look into the rising prices of fuel because it is affecting the people.

Senator Mar Roxas has also been calling for the immediate suspension of the VAT on petroleum products in the light of calls to hike fares, to the detriment of commuters and consumers, to help ease the rising costs of fuel.

Nograles yesterday also said the latest round of price increase of fuel, and the recent petition of the Manila Electric Company to increase rates by 67.17 centavos per kilowatt hour, is aggravating the economic difficulties now being experienced by most Filipinos due to the high cost of food and other basic commodities.

Nograles said he directed the chair of Energy Committee to immediately convene his committee to avert the effects of the looming energy problem caused primarily by the fuel situation in the world market.

The pending measures include the proposal to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act  to accelerate the implementation of retail competition and Open Access in the Electric Power Industry; the proposed Renewable Energy Resources Act and the proposal to develop Downstream Natural Gas Industry, he said.

“I want the committee to conduct marathon hearings so that we can produce high-impact legislations to address the energy situation. We must cushion impact and protect our people and consumers," Nograles said

“The committee can also make recommendations that does not require an act of Congress and we will submit these recommendations to the President,” Nograles said.*CPG

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