Hontiveros: Duterte backing Cusi on Malampaya buyout 'not surprising but still unacceptable'

President Rodrigo Duterte siding with Department of Energy (DOE) officials on the alleged questionable approval of the Udenna-Chevron deal on the sale of Malampaya Consortium shares was not surprising but still unacceptable, Senator Risa Hontiveros said Monday.

“Bagaman hindi completely nakakagulat, sobrang disappointing at hindi katanggap-tanggap ‘yung pag-back ni Presidente sa kanila,” Hontiveros said in a virtual press conference when asked about Duterte’s latest statement on the sale of Malampaya shares.

(Although it is not completely surprising, the President’s backing of DOE officials is still disappointing and unacceptable.)

Duterte last Friday issued a statement throwing support to embattled Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi after the Senate called for the filing of criminal charges against him and some of his subordinates over the approval of the Malampaya buyout.

"I view with grave concern an apparent effort at the Senate to put in bad light recent developments involving the Malampaya gas field," Duterte said in a statement.

"This casts undue, undeserved, and unwarranted aspersion on the part of some of our key government officials. This is grossly unfair to them and to the public,” he added.

Duterte’s statement came after the Senate sent a resolution to the Office of the Ombudsman urging the filing of appropriate criminal and administrative charges against Cusi and other DOE executives over the Udenna-Chevron deal on the sale of Malampaya Consortium shares.

Hontiveros supported the findings of the Senate energy committee that the DOE officials violated Presidential Decree No. 87 and its own department circular.

“On all counts, talagang hindi lamang naging pabaya kung hindi lumabag sa batas at sariling department order si Secretary Cusi,” she said.

(On all counts, Secretary Cusi was not only negligent but he also violated their own department order.)

She then hit Duterte’s statement, saying the Malampaya deal was done “under the cover of darkness.”

“Ginawa nila yon sa dilim, under cover of darkness at alam natin na ang ginagawa under cover of darkness, hindi sa liwanag ng batas, ay malamang sa hindi ay mga krimen,” she said.

Hontiveros is one of the senators who actively participated in the series of Senate energy committee investigations that stemmed from Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy’s Malampaya Philippines Pte. Ltd. buyout of the 45% Chevron Philippines’ stake in the offshore gas field in Palawan in 2020. It has since been renamed UC MPPL or UC Malampaya.

Uy was one of the President's top contributors, donating P30 million to his 2016 campaign, according to the data gathered by GMA News Research.

Recently, the Udenna Corporation maintained that there was no transfer of rights or obligations that occurred in the Udenna-Chevron deal on the sale of Malampaya Consortium shares.

Udenna, through its media relations officer, earlier 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.

In October, three private individuals filed a criminal complaint with the Ombudsman over the alleged anomalous sale of Chevron's stakes in the Malampaya gas-to-power project to Uy’s enterprise.  —KBK, GMA News