Two oil majors pull rug under sugar producers

While sugar producers remain bogged down discussing the wisdom of a partial shift to ethanol production, the two major oil players in the country pulled the rug from under their feet.

During a meeting with members of the National Ethanol Council in Manila last week, the two oil firms reportedly told Sugar Administrator James Ledesma and the Department of Energy that they will start selling the 10-percent blend of gasoline and ethanol before the year ends.

But Petron jumped the gun on Shell. It intends to launch its program by November. That’s a one-month lead time, but immaterial. Seaoil and two other minor players have already announced their launching of their own 10 percent mixed fuel. Seaoil started retailing "gasohol" or alcogas last week in its Quezon City gas station.

Yes, but there’s a catch to it. All the players in the biofuel mix are buying ethanol from abroad. The government has stimulated the demand for the anhydrous alcohol when it brought down the tariff from 10 to one percent.

Archimedes Amarra, a sugar consultant who attended the meeting, said some of the details of the program still have to be hammered out. But insofar as the mix blend marketing is concerned, it’s all systems go.

The first ethanol plant in the country is the San Carlos bioethanol plant in San Carlos City in northern Negros Occidental. Barely two months ago, President Arroyo presided over its ground-breaking. She announced then the advent of the ethanol era and a breakthrough in the perennial zigzag of millgate sugar prices, with ethanol providing a degree of stability to the price of sugar.

Because only a handful of landowners operate the sugarlands in the San Carlos area, not much problem was encountered by the group, led by Jose Ma. Zabaleta and Bronzeoak, the British co-operator of the venture.

Bukidnon Rep. Mike Zubiri, principal author of the House bill, was ecstatic when President Arroyo certified the bill as urgent before she left for the United States last week.

"Soon, there will be the energy barons," he chortled. That may be his perception, but that was not something which the sugar producers have taken to heart. There are a lot of things to be ironed out. And the most important is that the bill must first be passed into law. It is a fact that some of the sugar producers, especially those with the Confederation of Sugar Producers’ Associations (Confed), are now brainstorming the idea of themselves putting up the capital to co-own a bioethanol plant.

"That may be inevitable. That’s how we could be able to eliminate some of the potential problems that could crop up if another group owns the manufacturing plant other than the producers themselves," pointed out Luis Tongoy, chairman of the Negros Panay chapter.

Even Confed’s national president Rey Bantug, to a certain extent, has the same outlook. This came about when several producers came up with a series of potential scenarios that could crop up later with the ethanol manufacturers.

Another factor that may have made producers hesitant was the devastation of the US sugar areas of Louisiana by Hurricane "Katrina." The US agriculture department had hiked the US sugar quota prior to "Katrina" when US sugarcane production suffered a 20 percent loss from two previous hurricanes and two tropical storms. After "Katrina," the losses proved staggering. And the US is supposed to make another call for a hike by the yearend.

Sagay mayor dies

Negrenses were still mourning the death of former Commission on Elections chairman and PCGG top honcho Haydee Yorac when word got out about the demise of 56-year-old Sagay City Mayor Fortunato Javelosa due to a liver ailment.

Negros Occidental Gov. Joseph Marañon, who visited Javelosa last Saturday, lauded the Sagay executive. He was not only married to Marañon’s first cousin, but Javelosa had always been paired with the governor in his political career.

Definitely, he was an outstanding town executive and later, a city official. Javelosa, who died at the Riverside Medical Center, will be succeeded by Vice Mayor Leo Rafel Cueva, a nephew of Gov. Marañon. First councilor Joseph Gerard Marañon will assume the post of vice mayor.

Javelosa was on his second term when he died. He won twice as mayor unopposed, a tribute to his stewardship of the northern Negros city, now considered one of the most progressive in the province.

Before running for mayor in 2001, Javelosa was the vice mayor of Sagay from 1992. Prior to that, he was a councilor from 1980 to 1992.

Javelosa had a Bachelor of Science degree from the West Negros College. He had always been noted as a hand-on town executive.

He is survived by his wife, nee Susan Marañon, the governor’s first cousin. They have three children — Kent, Kevin, and Kimberly.

The Philippine Flag in Sagay City was ordered flown at half-mast. Javelosa’s remains now lie in state at the Rolling Hills Memorial Chapel in Bacolod. They will be brought to Sagay City for an overnight wake today and returned to the Rolling Hills Memorial Chapel tomorrow.

The interment will be after the 2 p.m. Mass on Sunday at Our Lady of the Triumph Church.

RPA-ABB probed on Talisay killing

The Talisay police found themselves saddled with a hot potato — the alleged killing of two jobless men and the shooting of a woman in Talisay City by alleged members of the breakaway Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPA-ABB).

Last Friday, George Vinarata and his sister’s boyfriend, John Rey Ramilia, were killed by seven armed men in Barangay Concepcion, Talisay City.

The witness, Melchorita Vianarata, George’s mother, was also fired at by the group.

She identified one of the gunmen as a certain Joemarie Nepomuceno, alias Ka Ding, who is reportedly a member of the RPA-ABB.

The police are reportedly poised to file two counts of murder and attempted murder against Nepomuceno, a certain Kanot, Ka Ton, Ka Inday Baye, an Inday Laki and three John Does with the Talisay City prosecutor’s office.

Local mediamen failed to get the comment of RPA-ABB national commander Carapali Lualhati.

Thai officials’ appeal

The Southeast Asian Games is an occasion local students should not miss. And that was the reason why Thailand’s SEAG delegation appealed to the Philippine government to cancel classes when the 2005 SEA Games is held from Nov. 29 to Dec. 5.

Col. Ruj Saeng-Udom, secretary of the Thailand Olympic Committee SEA Games delegation, said the Philippine government must cancel classes. He added that students can assist the biennial event as volunteers.

Rep. Monico Puentevella has also requested the Commission on Higher Education and the education department to declare all classes special holidays during the international sports event.

Former CHED chairman Bro. Rolly Dizon also suggested that colleges, universities and high schools agree to the proposed holiday and recommend that the activity be considered as part of the Physical Education requirements of the students.