But the probe should be an even-handed one, given the legal context in which the money had been disbursed. Instead, it became a pork-barrel fund of sorts for various national government agencies, as well as the provincial government of Palawan, where off its shores the Malampaya project was built. To recall, the Malampaya funds represent the government’s 60-percent share in the net operating proceeds of the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project, which supplies fuel to three power plants in Batangas and provides 30 percent of Luzon’s electricity needs. As we have said earlier, there is urgency to this probe given the fact that Malampaya is expected to run out of natural gas by 2022. New efforts toward that direction should start as soon as possible, and those responsible for the Malampaya funds’ misuse must be held accountable.

Source: Manila Times November 03, 2017 18:33 UTC