Amid rapidly increasing fuel prices, Senator Risa Hontiveros thinks that the national government should immediately make the shift to renewable energy.
“The present situation only shows how vulnerable our nation is to oil price shocks. If nothing is changed, we will always be at the mercy of the market and its most influential players,” Hontiveros said on Friday, Oct. 14.
A major pump price hike took effect last Oct. 11. For one oil firm, diesel went up by about P6.85 per liter, gasoline by P1.20, and kerosene by P3.50.
READ: https://mb.com.ph/2022/10/08/p5-80-p6-20-liter-hike-in-diesel-prices-by-oct-11/
As she explained, the Philippines is dependent on imported oil for its energy needs, which puts the country in a vulnerable position amid volatile oil prices.
“By investing more in renewable energy projects such as solar, offshore wind, small and medium hydroelectric and geothermal projects, we will be doing much to lessen our dependency on imported oil,” she said.
“Hindi pwedeng price monitoring lang ang aksyon ng pamahalaan. Kailangan nating madaliin ang pag-rollout ng renewable energy projects na pakikinabangan ng ating mga kababayan (The government cannot just monitor prices. We need to speed up the rollout of renewable energy projects that our citizens are waiting for),” she continued.
She previously raised these points with the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Transportation (DOTR) during the agencies’ respective budget hearings. Specifically, she asked that they look into a proposed nationwide electric vehicle program.
“This latest oil price hike should be a wake-up call that our present setup of importing oil for our energy needs is unsustainable and anti-consumer. Let us tap into our wealth of indigenous resources for our energy needs and end this vicious cycle of dependency on imported oil,” she ended.