Palawan to file case on Malampaya issue

The provincial government of Palawan, led by Governor Joel T. Reyes, is set to file a case that it hopes will legally settle the issue of Palawan’s shares from the revenues of the Camago-Malampaya natural gas project.

Reyes said negotiations with the National Government regarding the rightful shares of Palawan, have reached a stalemate, as the provincial administration has decided not to pursue the memorandum of agreement on a compromise financial package. "With the MOA, we were hoping to arrive at a win-win situation. Unfortunately, this is not what some officials of the National Government seem to have in mind," Reyes pointed out.

The Malampaya plant is expected to make Palawan the richest province in the country, as revenues are estimated to reach $2.1 billion spread over a 20-year period. The share of the province is provided for in Section 7, Article X of the Philippine Constitution, and in Section 289 of the Local Government Code of 1991 which states that "the host province has an equal share to the earnings derived from the extraction of hydrocarbon deposits found thereat."

However, the enthusiasm in Palawan was doused when the National Government began to float the idea that the gas project was located "off Palawan" and the province, therefore, was not entitled to shares from the project. To refute this position, Reyes presented a comprehensive backgrounder on the legal and historical bases for the stand that the project is within the territorial jurisdiction of Palawan.

In an effort to solve the impasse, President Arroyo directed that a series of dialogues and consultations be held between the National Government headed by Energy Secretary Vicente Perez, and Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho, and Palawan provincial government led by Reyes and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

"Unfortunately, nothing much has come out of this exercise," Reyes declared. "This is why we have decided to bring the matter to court. Otherwise, we’ll just be wasting a lot of time in meetings that do not lead to anything productive."

Reyes disclosed that mass actions and demonstrations will accompany the filing of the case. To be named as respondents in the case are Perez and the DOE, Camacho and the DOF, and Secretary Emilia Boncodin of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

"Everyone in Palawan has closed ranks on this issue," Reyes said. Vice Governor David Ponce de Leon and the members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, Reps. Vicente Sandoval and Abraham Mitra, and Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward Hagedorn, together with heads and members of NGOs and socio-civic organizations have expressed their support for this cause, Reyes added.