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Lifting of oil exploration ban in West Philippine Sea done ‘unilaterally,’ says Energy chief
By TED CORDERO, GMA NewsThe move of the Philippine government to lift the ban on oil exploration activities in the West Philippines was a “unilateral” decision, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said Friday.
“This decision was done unilaterally... It is a unilateral decision by the [Philippine] government,” Cusi said in a virtual press briefing.
The Energy chief said the Philippine government did not inform Beijing prior to the announcement of the lifting of the suspension on oil exploration activities in the area, but informing them is already being planned.
Cusi earlier said he has already informed Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin of the President’s approval of the DOE recommendation.
On Thursday night, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced that President Rodrigo Duterte approved its recommendation to lift the suspension of petroleum activities in the disputed waters.
In his statement, Cusi said a “Resume-to-Work” notice was issued by the DOE to the Service Contractors (SC) doing petroleum-related activities in the areas of SC 59, 72, and 75 in the West Philippine Sea.
The activities there were suspended on the ground of “Force Majeure” due to the WPS dispute.
SCs 59 and 72 are operated by the Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC) and Forum Ltd., respectively.
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Meanwhile, PXP Energy Corp. operates SC 75.
In 2015, the DOE suspended all drilling and exploration works in the West Philippine Sea, particularly in the area covered by Service Contract (SC) 72 in the Reed Bank, citing a force majeure as the site is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Philippines and China.
In 2019, the Energy department asked the DFA to lift the moratorium covering the disputed waters.
During the press briefing, Cusi was asked why it took long for the Philippines to lift the moratorium. The Energy chief said there were “many complications” that had to be addressed “kaya medyo natagalan tayo sa pag-lift ng moratorium.”
While the lifting was a unilateral decision, the Philippines, he said, is confident that it can resume activities in the West Philippine Sea “freely,”
“I cannot speak on behalf of China, but based on their pronouncements, we can do our activity freely as the country that has the economic rights,” Cusi said.
“I don’t think it will negatively affect us,” he said.
Cusi said the Philippines will “stand up” for its rights, in the event that China protests the resumption of petroleum activities in the disputed territory.
The Cabinet official said there’s no definite timeline yet when the service contractors can resume their petroleum activities, but “they will do it within the time frame allowed in their service contract.”—AOL, GMA News