SENATORIAL aspirant Harry Roque Jr. vowed to continue the fight for the 40 percent rightful share of income for the province of Palawan from the Camago-Malampaya natural gas project if he gets elected into office in the May national polls.
The Palawan province administration has been attempting to collect its 40 percent share of the Malampaya gas project since 2006, citing territorial jurisdiction over the Camago-Malampaya reservoir.
But the Supreme Court (SC) in 2018 declared that the province is not entitled to an equitable share from the proceeds of the project since no law grants Palawan a territorial jurisdiction over the area where the project was located.
Roque, a lawyer by profession, said he did not agree with the SC, saying the case was dismissed due to an “erroneous ruling based on a misunderstanding that the province of Palawan’s creation did not state that the Malampaya oil field is within Palawan’s territorial authority.”
“In my opinion, with all due respect to the Supreme Court, the decision was wrong,” said Roque during the turnover of sacks of rice and gallons of water for the residents of Taytay, Palawan affected by Typhoon Odette.
“While we assert that Kalayaan which is 600 kilometers away is part of Palawan; Malampaya, which is only 80 kilometers away from mainland Palawan, is not,” he added.
Such “regrettable mistake,” Roque said, could only be corrected through legislation by giving Palawan’s rightful share of income.
“I will continue that fight in the Senate,” Roque assured Palaweños.
Roque, a former spokesman of President Rodrigo Duterte, handled the Regional Trial Court case for the petitioners all the way to the High Court.
In 2020, the High Court denied the Motion for Reconsideration, saying the gas reservoirs were located on the continental shelf, beyond Palawan’s territorial jurisdiction.
It also said the Constitution did not apportion the territories of the Philippines among the local government units (LGUs), and that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea conferred no continental shelves on LGUs.
Malampaya natural gas, which is piped from Palawan to Batangas, fuels power plants servicing 30 percent of Luzon’s energy needs. The Philippines is expected to rely on imports when the field runs out of gas.
The gas project, which accounts for a vital resource of the country’s energy mix, is seen for decommissioning between 2027 and 2029 after a projected decline in energy output starting 2024.
Shell Philippines Exploration BV (SPEx) and Chevron each had a 45 percent stake in the Malampaya project. The remaining 10 percent belonged to state-run Philippine National Oil Corp.
But Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corp through its subsidiary UC Malampaya acquired Chevron Malampaya LLC’s share in the project for nearly P28.6 billion. In April last year, the Department of Energy approved the deal.
In May 2021, another Udenna unit, Malampaya Energy XP, bought out SPEx, which had held a 45 percent operating interest in the Malampaya gas field, for P23.2 billion.
