"Developing coconut oil as a means to power vehicles and industrial machinery holds a lot of promise for the coconut industry and the economy as a whole," Villar said.
"Government must expedite efforts to develop the needed technology that will enable us to utilize coconut oil with the expected rise in demand for fuel products," he added.
Villar, chairman of the Senate committee on food and agriculture, pointed out that in accordance with the oil deregulation law, there must be an adequate and uninterrupted supply of environmentally clean and high quality petroleum products, thus the need to tap new energy sources.
Demand for petroleum products is projected to grow 6.2 percent a year from 124,662 barrels this year to 218,005 barrels in 2011. For diesel alone, demand is expected to rise 16.8 percent in 2006 to 52,270 barrels from only 44,750 this year.
The Philippines is one of the world’s top producers of copra. The once booming industry exports 80 percent of total production.
Developing coconut oil as an energy source, Villar said, will expand markets for local coconut farmers while reducing the country’s dependence on imported crude oil.
Research has shown that coconut methyl ester (CME), a derivative of coconut oil can be transformed into an environmentally-friendly fuel called coco diesel.
The Departments of Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, Science and Technology and Trade and Industry in coordination with private sector groups are presently working to develop CME so it can be used as a blending stock or additive for diesel.