PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte signed on Tuesday Executive Order no. 39, installing the Secretary of Energy as ex-officio chairman of the board of directors of Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) Exploration Corporation and PNOC Renewables Corporation
The E.O. cited as its authority the Department of Energy Act of 1992 (Republic Act no. 7638), which “mandates the Department of Energy (DOE) to carry out the policy of the State to achieve self-reliance in the country’s energy requirements, to prepare, integrate, coordinate, supervise, and control all plans, programs, projects, and activities of the government relative to energy exploration, development, utilization, distribution, and conservation.”
The PNOC Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC) is 99.79% owned by the PNOC, and the PNOC Renewables Corporation (PNOC-RC), is a wholly-owned subsidiary.
“In view of the respective mandates of the PNOC-EC and PNOC-RC to, among others, explore, produce and utilize petroleum and renewable energy sources as stated in their Articles of Incorporation, there is a need for close policy coordination between those corporations and the DOE, in order to achieve the national policy of energy self-reliance,” the EO read. — Rosemarie A. Zamora
