Pangilinan questions awarding of Malampaya deal

Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Wednesday questioned anew the awarding of the Malampaya natural gas-to-power project to the group led by Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy.

Pangilinan asked concerned officials to explain the government’s failure to exercise its full right of first refusal, which would give it an option to keep control of the natural gas field.

“It is very disturbing to listen to the reason given why the Department of Energy did not consider taking or exercising its right of first refusal on the basis of a sweeping, general statement of negative facts and constraints,” he said in a statement.

“We are given just a broad statement to justify the turnover to a private corporation of a billion-dollar worth of assets. This is incredulous. We deserve a better explanation,” he added.

This comes after Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy’s Malampaya Philippines Pte Ltd. in March completed the buyout of the Chevron Philippines stake in the offshore gas field in Palawan. It also acquired the entire stake of Dutch petroleum giant Shell Petroleum N.V. in May, and has since been renamed UC MPPL.

Uy was one of the President’s top contributors during the 2016 campaign with P30 million of contributions, while his wife Cherylyn contributed P1 million, based on GMA Research.

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi last month denied that the buy-in of Uy’s business into the Malampaya consortium was a midnight deal, as he said the transaction is beyond the department’s purview. Cusi also serves as president of the ruling PDP-Laban party.

For its part, Uy’s business group Udenna Corp. said its takeover of Malampaya was above board, as there are no laws requiring approval of transfer of shares of companies that have interest in the asset.

Pangilinan noted, however, that the Department of Energy cannot wash its hands off the Malampaya controversy since the Secretary heads the board of directors of the Philippine National Oil Company - Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC).

“What really is at stake here is our energy security and the interest of the Filipino people who have equal rights over the natural resources and wealth of our country,” the senator said.—LDF, GMA News