Citing ongoing risks to global oil supply due to the conflict in the Middle East, Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson said the Marcos administration should consider exploring joint energy ventures with China, including in the West Philippine Sea.
Lacson, however, stressed that any such arrangement must strictly comply with the 60-40 foreign ownership provision under the Philippine Constitution.
“Yayaman tayo doon.”
“Yes. Four-square behind, sinusuportahan ko. Kasi sayang eh. Yayaman tayo doon,” the veteran legislator said in an interview on DZBB radio, when asked if the Marcos administration should consider joint exploration.
Under Sec. 2, Art. XII of the 1987 Constitution, the State “may enter into co-production, joint venture, or production-sharing agreements with Filipino citizens, or corporations or associations at least sixty per centum of whose capital is owned by such citizens.”
The seasoned lawmaker noted that while information shows the West Philippine Sea is rich in natural gas and oil that can help address our energy needs, the Philippines lacks the technical and financial resources to explore them on its own. In contrast, the senator said China has the technology and equipment for such operations.
He recalled that during the Duterte administration, he along with Senate President Vicente Sotto III and then Senator Gregorio Honasan II discussed the matter with then President Rodrigo Duterte, who Lacson said was “very supportive” of the initiative.
“Ibig sabihin nire-recognize nila ang sovereignty ng Pilipinas sa West Philippine Sea.”
“Ang mahalaga lang sa atin, on paper sa agreement, sa MOA or whatever na pipirmahan, maliwanag emphasized doon 60-40. ‘Pag pumayag ang China, panalo na tayo dahil ibig sabihin nire-recognize nila ang sovereignty ng Pilipinas sa West Philippine Sea o kung saan man ang area na ma-explore,” he concluded.
