FORMER ENERGY secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla has joined the board of MRC Allied, Inc. as independent director, adding more former government officials to the mining and property company that is diversifying into renewable energy.
Along with Mr. Petilla, who run and lost in the last senatorial race, former National Electrification Administration (NEA) Administrator Edita S. Bueno has gained a seat in MRC Allied, also as independent director.
The company’s president, Gladys N. Nalda, served as vice-president for legal and corporate affairs of state agency PNOC Renewables Corp. She was also legal counsel of the Department of Energy.
“With the entry of the new directors and pursuant to the company thrust to strengthen its structure and enhance good governance, the Board Committees have been re-organized. Petilla has been named chairperson of the Risk and Oversight Committee, while Bueno has been named chairperson of the Audit Committee,” the company said in a statement over the weekend.
“Petilla and Bueno, who both have a track record of invaluable experience in the energy sector, solidifies MRC Allied’s board and management team,” the company said.
“Their election to the board also bodes well for the company as it is now diversifying into the energy industry, with a focus on the renewable energy sector,” it added.
The company said Ms. Nalda was also a member of the risk and oversight committee. Messrs. Petilla and Bernard B. Rabanzo have been named members of the audit committee.
Based on the company’s corporate profile at the Philippine Stock Exchange, its chairman is Carlos Jose P. Gatmaitan, who is also its independent director. Its vice-chairman is Jimmy T. Yaokasin.
Celia Chao completes the seven-member board, along with Ms. Nalda and Mr. Rabanzo as regular directors. Ms. Bueno and Mr. Petilla are independent directors.
Mr. Petilla also served as governor of Leyte province for three straight terms before joining the Aquino cabinet in 2012.
Last month, MRC Allied announced its plan to enter the energy sector with an ambitious target of putting up at least 1,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy in the next five years.
Ms. Nalda said the move was perfectly timed because of the rising demand for electricity, increasing target of renewable energy capacity and the opportunity to buy existing power plants.
The company has a total of 160 MW of solar capacity in the pipeline this year, she said, identifying these as a 100-MW facility in Clark Green City, Pampanga and 60-MW in Naga City, Cebu. — Victor V. Saulon
THE Department of Energy (DoE) has accepted six project proposals that seek to use water from Laguna de Bay to produce power using pumped-storage hydroelectricity.
The process generates electricity from the release of pumped and stored water in a reservoir.
“We have accepted six service contract applications over Laguna Lake,” Mario C. Marasigan, who heads the Department of Energy’s renewable energy management bureau.
“All of these projects are pumped storage,” he said, identifying Citicore Power, Inc. and Phinma Energy Corp. as among the project proponents.
He said the proposals would require pumping water from Laguna de Bay and storing it in a reservoir at a higher elevation. When there is a demand for electricity, the stored water is released through turbines to produce power.
He said the range of capacity targeted by the proponents is from 400 megawatts (MW) to 600 MW. The final figure will depend on the outcome of their feasibility studies, he added.
Mr. Marasigan said the six projects would total around 3,000 MW depending on whether Laguna de Bay is able to accommodate the projects. The projects are distributed around the Rizal and Laguna sides of the lake, he said.
He said the feasibility studies of the proponents would answer whether Laguna de Bay has sufficient water to allow the construction of the power generation facilities. The government has a similar project installed — the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan power generation complex in Laguna, which has a combined capacity of around 379 MW.
Mr. Marasigan said interest in putting up a pumped storage facility in Laguna de Bay follows the passage of the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 and the Mini-hydroelectric Power Incentive Act of 1990.
He said before the passage of the two laws, only government agency National Power Corp. held the exclusive authority to exploit the country’s river systems and water bodies for power development.
“All six projects are in the pre-development stage,” Mr. Marasigan said.
Sought for comment, Rio Q. Balaba, Citicore energy regulations manager, said the company was awarded about a month ago a service contract to develop certain areas in Laguna.
Citicore’s technical working group was “formulating the project development landscape and procedure on how to move with the project,” he said.
“We are given under the service contract a pre-development stage of five years. But we are as aggressive and very committed for our renewable energy development,” he told reporters.
“We wanted, as much as possible, earlier than five,” he said, adding that the project will depend on the outcome of the feasibility study. — Victor V. Saulon
AFTER a hiatus following the rejection of former Environment Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez by the Commission on Appointments in May, the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) is set to meet again July 25 with the aim of coming up with a shortlist of experts who will review the status of all operational mines in the country.
“What’s on the agenda is the shortlisting of the possible members of the review team. And the other agenda item is the terms of reference in the engagement of professional services,” Mines and Geosciences Bureau Acting Director Wilfredo G. Moncano said in a phone interview over the weekend while confirming that the mining council is set to meet on that date.
Mr. Moncano said the MICC has compiled a list of people to be tapped and will select them on the basis of the earlier approved qualifications which disallow the inclusion of those employed, or involved with operating mines and/or any anti-mining group.
Selected experts should also have 10 years of experience in the technical aspects of mining or social development.
The MICC is seeking specialists in the law, social development, the economy, minerals and the environment.
The interagency subcommittee includes representatives of the Departments of Finance, Environment and Natural Resources, Labor and Employment, Energy, Social Welfare and Development, the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines, and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples. The panel will evaluate the suitability of each potential expert.
Asked if the review of the 26 miners ordered closed or suspended by Ms. Lopez will hold to the three-month timetable, as initially targeted, Mr. Moncano said: “We’ll see.”
The MICC under Executive Order 79, is mandated to review the status of all operating mines every two years.
However, since 2012 when the order was signed, the council has met only this year to discuss the review, as ordered by President Rodrigo R. Duterte after Ms. Lopez moved to shut mines down due to alleged environmental violations.
Some half of the affected miners have filed a motion for reconsideration with the Environment department, which are now being reviewed, while half have addressed their appeals to the Office of the President. — Janina C. Lim
TREASURY BILLS (T-bills) on offer today are expected to fetch higher yields across the board, tracking the direction of US Treasuries and offshore oil prices, and due to the hawkish stance of major central banks on monetary policy.
The government plans to raise as much as P15 billion in T-bills at today’s auction: P6 billion in 91-day debt papers, P5 billion in 182-day notes and P4 billion in 364-day papers.
Bond traders said they expect rates requested by banks to inch higher compared to the previous auction as local yields continue to follow the direction of US Treasuries.
“Yields will be higher by 10 basis points (bp) across the board ideally because global yields have gone up, and local government securities has been 20 bps higher in the past weeks, so we’re expecting bids to be higher for this auction,” one trader said by phone on Friday.
Similarly, another trader said: “We are looking at a 10-15 bps upward bias across as we’re still looking at movement in offshore oil prices and US Treasuries, which are the indicators of this auction’s yield movement.”
The government only raised P12.5 billion out of its P15 billion program during its offering of Treasury bills last July 3 after bids by investors rose across the board. The papers were met with P24.538 billion in total tenders, still above the planned borrowing.
The 91-day T-bills received a total of P12.005 billion in tenders, double the programmed P6 billion, with the government fully awarding the papers quoted at an average rate of 2.126%.
However, the Treasury only raised P4.131 billion from the 182-day securities, less than the planned P5-billion borrowing. The papers fetched a 2.496% yield and offers came in at P5.631 billion.
Lastly, the 364-day T-bills were also partially awarded, with the state only raising P2.37 billion out of the programmed P4 billion fund raising, even as bids reached P6.902 billion. The year-long tenor fetched an average rate of 2.926%.
At the secondary market on Friday, the three-month, six-month, and one-year papers fetched 2.8264%, 2.9929%, and 2.8699%, respectively.
Asked what other factors could contribute to investors’ decision to bid on the short-termed debt notes, the trader said: “The market sentiment on the rhetorics of global central banks and the US Federal Reserve.”
Last month, the world’s top central banks — namely the Fed, Bank of England , European Central Bank, and Bank of Japan — delivered what seems to be a collective message that quantitative easing is being put back in its box and interest rates are going up.
“So since this is a short-term issuance, there’s an immediate reaction on their comments so there’s an effect in yields, plus the increase in rates as well as the demand might also be influenced in steadily increase in TDF (term deposit facility) rates,” the trader mentioned, noting yields seen for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ TDF have been rising in the past three to four auctions.
Meanwhile, the other trader said Fed Chair Janet L. Yellen’s recent comments on monetary policy could push local yields higher.
The US economy is healthy enough for the Fed to raise rates and begin winding down its massive bond portfolio, though low inflation and a low neutral rate may leave the central bank with diminished leeway, Ms. Yellen said in her US Congress testimony last Wednesday.
Asked how much demand the T-bills will attract in today’s auction, one trader said, “There’s still appetite, for same reasons as the previous auction — because of huge maturities in the second quarter.”
The other trader said the papers will be oversubscribed.
The government plans to borrow as much as P195 billion from domestic sources this quarter through offerings of P105 billion worth of T-bills and P90 billion in Treasury bonds. — Janine Marie D. Soliman
