PCCI welcomes DOE, DENR appointees

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) welcomed the appointment of the secretaries of the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), saying it trusts the competence of the appointed officials.

In a statement yesterday, the PCCI welcomed the appointments of Raphael Lotilla and Toni Yulo-Loyzaga as chiefs of the energy and environment departments, respectively, amid the various challenges facing the country’s power and environment sector.

PCCI president George Barcelon described the two officials as the right persons to lead their respective agencies.

“We welcome and congratulate the newly named Cabinet secretaries on their well-deserved appointments. We trust that with their competence, vast experiences and expertise, both will deliver and perform well in serving the people and our country,” Barcelon said.

PCCI said the country’s energy sector faces a looming crisis in fuel and power supply and this has been contributing to the uneasiness of the business sector in forecasting energy costs in their operations.

“We have vast mineral resources including nickel, gold, copper, iron ore and forest within our shores. Exploring and making full use of these resources can bring in much needed foreign earnings to cover high energy and essential commodity imports,” Barcelon said, citing the DOE and the DENR’s important roles in the process.

He noted that the PCCI, through its energy and environment committees, has crafted recommendations for short- to medium- and long-term plans to help the government address issues in the energy and environment sectors.

“The chamber has been actively meeting to come up with proposals on how to balance a stable economy and healthy environment as we make full use of our mineral resources,” Barcelon added.

The group earlier urged the new administration to define its agenda on energy supply security and affordable power cost, as an assurance of a reasonably priced and steady power supply capable of meeting production needs is vital in attracting investments in heavy industries.

Meanwhile, the United Sugar Producers Federation has backed the temporary appointment of Sugar Regulatory Administration deputy administrator Ignacio Santillana as officer-in-charge of the agency. – Danessa Rivera