STATE-owned Philippine National Oil Corp. (PNOC) forwarded P7 billion of its funds to the government for its fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Department of Energy (DoE) said on Sunday.
The fund remittance was authorized by the recently passed Bayanihan to Heal as One law, which granted special powers to President Rodrigo R. Duterte to repurpose funds for the pandemic containment effort. The law empowers him to redirect cash, funds, and investments from any government-owned and controlled corporations and national government agencies to COVID-19 response.
Of the total amount, P5 billion is from accumulated retained earnings of the state-owned company, while P2 billion is from its exploration subsidy.
The DoE noted that the company’s board also pledged to donate a portion of their allowances to procure protective gear and supplies for medical workers in the frontline of the fight to stem the pandemic.
PNOC is a government-owned and controlled-corporation (GOCC) led by the DoE that operates an exploration and a renewables unit.
The PNOC Exploration Corp. has a 10% stake in the Malampaya deep-water gas-to-power project under Service Contract 38 awarded by the DoE, while the PNOC Renewables Corp. runs various solar, hydro, waste-to-energy and other renewable energy projects.
Recently, the DoE authorized the use of the funds under Energy Regulations 1-94 to help local government units in their COVID-19 response. The funds, which come from the centavo per kilowatt-hour take from the total electricity sales of power generation firms, will be redirected for the use of their host communities.
Also, the National Electrification Administration released P1.3 billion of its unused funds to aid in the government’s response against the pandemic.
The National Transmission Corp., also a GOCC under the DoE, has pledged P7.5 million to the Department of Health for the latter’s purchase of testing kits and other equipment needed in its COVID-19 response. — Adam J. Ang
