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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Hataman: House gets DBM commitment on release of P1.26B to Napocor

Hataman: House gets DBM commitment on release of P1.26B to Napocor

Published Aug 29, 2022 01:01 pm

The House of Representatives has received commitment from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) that it would release some P1.26-billion in funds to the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR) for the settlement of its obligations to fuel providers and avert a crippling power crisis in some parts of Mindanao and Luzon.

During a public hearing by the House committee on appropriations on the national budget with the Development Budget Coordinating Council (DBCC) last Friday, Basilan Representative Mujiv Hataman asked DBM Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman on the status of the request of Napocor for the funds that would be used to pay oil company Petron for fuel charges.

Hataman said the power outages in Basilan, as well as in other parts of the country, would only get worse if Petron decides not to deliver fuel to at least 10 power plants should Napocor fail to secure payment of at least P1.26 billion of its over P2 billion obligation.

“We received the same information from (DOE) Secretary (Raphael) Lotilla. We are just waiting for the request if we can find funding for the fuel charges, I think it is roughly P1 billion until the end of the year,” Pangandaman told members of the committee.

“I already talked to Secretary Lotilla on the matter, and we are just waiting for the request from the department to initiate the processing of the release of the P1.2-billion for the fuel,” she added.

Hataman, a former governor of the now-defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), earlier met with Napocor officials on the power outages in Basilan after receiving a letter from the agency informing the lawmaker of its predicament with fuel providers.

If Napocor fails to settle its obligations with Petron within the next several days, the oil company will not deliver fuel to Basilan’s power plants, which is composed of one diesel power plant and two power barges: one in Isabela City and another in Lamitan. The province’s power plant and power barges are under Napocor’s Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG).

Napocor, in dealing with increasing fuel prices and addressing its payment deficiencies, told Hataman it has requested the DOE and DOF an augmentation of funds for 2022.

The agency also requested to avail of Unprogrammed Funds in the 2022 General Appropriations Act (GAA) and the utilization of P1.3 billion national government subsidy from DBM in prior years.

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