House Assistant Majority Leader Eduardo Gullas said Friday that Congress would not bankroll a government takeover of Petron Corp.
“We in Congress won’t allow the government to buy Petron back for the same reason that we won’t allow the state-run Philippine National Oil Co. to acquire Shell [Exploration] B.V.’s 45% operating stake in the Malampaya gas project,” the Cebu lawmaker said in a statement.
“The government neither has the money nor the operational flexibility to run extremely costly and inherently risky oil and gas undertakings that are best left to highly agile private corporations,” he said.
The lawmaker made the statement after Petron president and CEO Ramon Ang on Monday expressed willingness to sell the oil company back to the national government.
“The proposal for the government to buy Petron, anytime I could sell it and the government can pay for it for five years. If the government wants to buy it, I am ready to sell it immediately,” Ang said.
Petron Corp. was formerly state-owned and controlled.
Petron, which has an 18.6% share of the local petroleum market, reported a net loss of P11.4 billion in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected the demand for fuel products.
The oil refiner has since bounced back, reporting a net income of around P5 billion from January to September this year.
“As to Malampaya, it is enough that the government is benefitting financially from the gas project without assuming any financial risks,” Gullas said.
The government receives 60% of the net proceeds from Malampaya’s petroleum operations, with the 40% going to the contractors, he said.
“Actually, on top of the government’s share, PNOC also gets a portion of the money that goes to the Malampaya contractors, because PNOC has a 10 percent stake in the service contract,” the lawmaker said.
Gullas said the only business that the state should get into now is the business of providing public transportation, particularly passenger and cargo railways.
“This is because sound transportation investments lower the costs of moving people and goods, improve productivity and foster long-term economic growth as well as job expansion,” he said. — VBL, GMA News
Cebu solon says Congress won t bankroll gov t takeover of Petron
Source: News Panda Philippines
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