Cusi on Senate resolution reaching Ombudsman: I’m ready to face any charges

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi on Friday said he was ready to face charges after a Senate resolution recommending the filing of lawsuits against him and other officials reached the Office of the Ombudsman.

“Once again, for the record, I assure everyone that I am ready to face any and all charges brought against me in the proper forum,” said Cusi.

“I am prepared to explain and prove that all of the actions of the Department of Energy regarding the sale and transfer of shares of Malampaya are legal, aboveboard and in accordance with the powers and mandate of the Department.”

On Friday morning, Senate Secretariat-Records Management and Mailing Service transmitted the recently-adopted Senate resolution which expresses the sense of the Senate to file appropriate criminal and administrative charges against Cusi and other Department of Energy (DOE) executives over the Udenna-Chevron Malampaya Consortium shares deal.

The Senate resolution arose from the series of inquiries launched by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, the upper chamber’s Energy panel chairman, who concluded in his privilege speech that Cusi and key official of the DOE “criminally and administratively liable for graft, gross neglect of duty, and grave misconduct and should immediately resign from their posts... for railroading the approval of the sale of participating interest of Chevron in Malampaya gas field.”

Other officials recommended to be charged were Energy Undersecretary Donato Marcos, officer-in-charge Undersecretary Roberto Uy, Assistant Secretary Leonido Pulido III, Assistant Secretary Gerardo Erguiza Jr., Director Cesar dela Fuente III, Director Arthur Tenazas, Director Araceli Soluta, OIC Assistant Director Guillermo Ansay, DOE Compliance Division chief Thelma Cerdeña, R.J.A Delos Santos, and Demujin Antiporda.

Malampaya issue politicized

“I am elated that this matter may now be brought before the proper legal forum where evidence, logic, and reason are used as the basis for determining whether or not an irregularity has been committed,” Cusi said.

The Energy chief added that the committee hearings were “innuendoes, speculation, and hearsay propagated by certain business interests that dictated the course of the so-called ‘investigation.’

“I find it unfortunate that the Malampaya issue has been politicized by those whose business interests must have been put in jeopardy as I stayed on course and performed my duties as Energy Secretary,” said Cusi.

“I call on the public to see beyond the politicization of the issue. I trust that, in time, I will be vindicated before the proper court of the malicious and baseless accusations heaped against my person and the DOE.”

Cusi claimed that in the course of the Committee hearings, Gatchalian had chosen to lend his ear to those adversarial business interests.

“It was obvious in these hearings that Senator Gatchalian has sought to undermine the DOE’s ability to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the proposal covering the said sale of shares,” he argued.

The Senate Energy panel’s series of inquiries looked into Davao-based tycoon Dennis Uy’s Malampaya Philippines Pte. Ltd. buyout in 2020 of the 45% Chevron Philippines’ stake in the offshore gas field in Palawan. It has since been renamed UC MPPL or UC Malampaya.

The Uy recently said there was no transfer of rights or obligations that occurred in the Udenna-Chevron deal on the sale of Malampaya Consortium shares.

“It is even more unfortunate that the senator should persist in fueling a gross misunderstanding of the issues on the part of the public by unfairly labeling the recent developments on Malampaya as, quote-unquote, ‘defective, lutong macau and graft-ridden’ which is an insult to the DOE officials and employees,” Cusi said.

“It is evident that the hearings were merely intended to force me out of office in order to frustrate and invalidate what are legally binding transactions involving ownership of shares of Malampaya contractors.”

The Malampaya gas-to-power facility powers more than four and a half million homes and businesses in Mega Manila alone. Six out of every ten light bulbs in Meralco’s franchise area are powered by Malampaya gas. It contributes almost 20% of the entire country’s power generation mix.

“At the end of the day, it is undisputed that SC38 or the Malampaya Deep Water Gas to Power Project continues to operate seamlessly and optimally despite the sale of shares,” Cusi said.

“I am elated that I now have the chance to be given my day in court. Meanwhile, I would like to assure the public that I remain committed to discharging my duties as Secretary of Energy to the best of my abilities.”

The planned takeover of the Malampaya facility by Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy’s Udenna Group is the subject of a graft complaint filed before the Office of the Ombudsman against Cusi, Uy, and officials of Chevron Philippines and Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. — DVM, GMA News