De Lima: No reason to entrust Malampaya to Udenna

Senator Leila de Lima on Monday said the Malampaya gas project must not be entrusted to Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corporation and its subsidiary UC Malampaya as it has no financial and operational capability.

In a statement, the opposition lawmaker said the sale of Malampaya to Udenna and UC Malampaya was “indicative of a collusion prejudicial to the interests of the Filipino people” and that it was “replete with badges of irregularities.”

“That Malampaya is crucial to our national interest is an understatement. Our country relies heavily on the energy production of Malampaya as well as the revenue it generates. Equally as important is its location in the West Philippine Sea where China is slowly creeping into our territorial waters and exclusive economic zone,” De Lima said

“There is absolutely no reason why we should entrust Malampaya to Udenna and UC Malampaya. They have neither the resources nor expertise to run the operation and conduct further exploration. And worse, they have a history of partnering up with China owned companies who continue to dispute our legally-established rights over the West Philippine Sea,” she added.

The lawmaker said that the UC Malampaya Philippines had signed a sale and purchase agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Chevron Malampaya LLC on October 25, 2019.

The deal was approved by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi on March 26, 2021.

The senator said that Cusi should explain why he was not recusing himself from the matter involving the consolidation of Malampaya interests to Udenna and UC Malampaya.

“Cusi had a prior transaction with Dennis Uy that made him a billionaire overnight. Noong 2017, binenta ni Cusi yung kompaniya niyang Starlite Ferries sa Chelsea Logistics ni Dennis Uy kung saan naging 1.6 bilyong piso ang naging net worth niya mula sa 163 milyon noong 2016,” she claimed.

(In 2017, Cui sold his company Starlite Ferries to Chelsea Logistics owned by Dennis Uy where his net worth jumped from 163 million in 2016 to 1.6 billion.)

“Ang UC Malampaya ay na-incorporate lang noong September 1, 2019, 18 days bago inanunsyo ng DOE na hindi na ire-renew yung service contract ng mga sellers na Chevron at Shell. Saktong nabuo sila noong may pagkakataong mabili ang interest ng Chevron at Shell. Convenient!” she added.

(UC Malampaya was only incorporated last September 1, 2019 or 18 days before the DOE announced that it won’t renew the service contract with Chevron and Shell. It was formed coincidentally when the interests of Chevron and Shell were up for sale. Convenient!)

De Lima said this kind of transaction should not be tolerated as it will affect the next generations.

“Dahil bagong gawa lang sila gaya ng Pharmally, wala rin silang karanasan ni kaalaman sa pagpapatakbo ng Malampaya. Bukod dito kailangan pa nila utangin ang pambayad nila,” she said.

(Because they are newly-incorporated just like Pharmally, they have no experience and expertise in running Malampaya. Apart from this, why do they need to loan so they can buy the stakes?)

“Paano kung sa best friend nilang China sila umutang at gawing collateral yung kanilang interes sa Malampaya? Parang binigay lang natin ang kontrol ng Malampaya sa kanila,” she added.

(What if they loaned from China and use their interest in Malampaya as a collateral? It’s like we gave them the control over Malampaya.)

GMA News Online has sought the comments of Cusi and the Udenna Corporation on the matter but they have yet to respond as of posting time.

Previously, Udenna, through its media relations officer, provided a copy of the company’s previous explanations on Malampaya’s takeover.

“Both the Chevron and Shell transactions follow highly competitive bidding processes with rigorous due diligence conducted by both global oil and gas companies, the international lenders involved and the other parties in the SC38 consortium,” Udenna said in its presentation sent to GMA News Online.

“Under the terms of the SC38 agreement, the Government owns the asset and will continue to receive 60% of the proceeds from Malampaya without investing any funds or taking on any of the risks. The SC38 consortium joint venture partners are the service contractor and divide the remaining 40% of the proceeds in proportion to their shareholding. As PNOC-EC holds 10% of the SC38 consortium, the Government’s total combined share of the proceeds from Malampaya is 64%,” it added. —NB, GMA News