NI NOEL ABUEL
Umaasa si Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte na aaksyunan na ni Department of Energy (DOE) Sec. Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla ang matagal nang plano ng pamahalaan na magtatag ng strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) bilang tugon sa patuloy na pagtaas na presyo ng produktong petrolyo.
Sinabi ni Villafuerte na tiwala itong hindi matutulad na mabalam ang SPR plan na unang naranasan sa panahon ni dating DOE Sec. Alfonso Cusi na umabot pa ng mahigit dalawang taon.
“With the seemingly rollercoaster ride, albeit mostly ups than downs, that gasoline and diesel prices have been through in the retail market, especially this year, one way for the incoming administration of PBBM (President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr.) to stabilize pump prices petroleum products on the watch of Secretary Lotilla—and shield consumers and motorists from the debilitating effects of sky-high prices of gasoline and fuel—is to put up an SPR or storage facility to let the government bring in additional inventory that could help soften future price surges,” paliwanag nito.
“We are hoping that with Lotilla, a highly-regarded technocrat and veteran in the energy sector, at the helm of the DOE, the government would at last take a long look at the SPR plan, which has unfortunately been stuck in the planning stage at the DOE for over two years now,” sabi pa ni Villafuerte, na una nang nagpahayag ng ideya hinggil sa national fuel reserve noong 2019.
Sinabi pa ni Villafuerte na umaasa ito sa track record ni Lotilla sa energy sector para gumawa ng pagbabago kung ang SPR ay matatapos na sa lalong madaling panahon.
“The long-talked-about fuel reserve plan had sadly crawled at a snail’s pace at the DOE in the past as our energy officials have taken their own sweet time looking into this SPR,” sabi pa ni Villafuerte.
OnlineBalita news 