Fishers group casts doubt on Malampaya contract extension

MANILA, Philippines — The militant Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) has expressed skepticism over the 15-year extension of the Malampaya service contract, echoing the same concern of the Gabriela Women’s party-list.

In a statement, Pamalakaya spokesperson Fernando Hicap cited a previous announcement that the gas reserves will last only until 2025. He said Pamalakaya is worried that Chinese companies and other foreign firms might vie for a new contract for oil and gas exploration in the Malampaya gas field.

“The dangers to our patrimony should not become a mystery if foreign companies, especially those from China, will be involved in the exploration of our resources,” Hicap said in Filipino.
He urged the government to make public the contents of the new contract, including the names of the companies that will undertake the oil exploration, as he stressed the need for the government to have control over Malampaya.

Hicap said this would ensure Filipinos are the ones who will reap benefits from the gas field and not foreign businesses.

Meanwhile, the militant labor group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) also urged the government to take full control of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines, saying this is necessary because “a less-China NGCP won’t necessarily lead to increased government control of the grid or better transmission services.”

PM spokesman Wilson Fortaleza said much of the recurring power interruptions in the country are due to very slow developments in the transmission sector. He claimed that much of NGCP’s revenue went into the pockets of shareholders as dividend rather than to capital expenditures.

He stressed that the Filipino people will not see an end to the energy crisis if the government continues to address the problem through cronyism.

Fortaleza noted that the Malampaya extended deal gave new holders – allegedly Dennis Uy and Ricky Razon – of Service Contract 38 golden opportunities to amass wealth that should belong to the state once the build-operate-transfer contract expires next year.

He claimed that at least P100 million is estimated to be the daily take from the Malampaya project and that this minimum amount “will all slip into the hands of Uy’s Udenna Corp. and Razon’s Prime Infrastructure rather than to the government that owes billions of accumulated social debts to its people.” –  Mayen Jaymalin