Roxas clarifies biofuel stand

Amid reports that he was blocking the passage of the Biofuel Bill, Sen. Mar Roxas said on Saturday that he simply wants to be sure that the bill now pending in the Senate guarantees enough supply to meet the domestic ethanol demand and that the country will not be forced to import the alternative fuel that will instead help farmers in Brazil and Thailand.

This was the clarification offered made by Roxas to the local media after Bukidnon Rep. Miguel Zubiri said he was blocking the passage of the measure post a conference with an official of a petroleum company.

"Forgive him for he knows not what he does. That is total hogwash. I have not spoken to any fuel company," stressed Roxas.

The Capiz senator pointed out that he is not against the biofuel bill, but he is for a responsible one. "I want to make sure that the requirements imposed can be met by domestic production," he added in an interview with the Visayan Daily STAR.

Roxas added that estimates show that an additional 35,000 hectares of sugarcane need to planted to produce 400 to 600 million liters of ethanol every year to fill the domestic demand without disrupting the supply of sugar for food and beverage needs."

"We want a bill that will help Filipino farmers. If we import ethanol because our domestic production cannot meet the demand as required under the law, we shall instead be helping farmers in Brazil and Thailand," the lawmaker added.

On coco diesel, Roxas pointed out that there are apprehensions that it may not be good for the engines of vehicles, and liability issues could arise from the mandated used of coco diesel.

Incidentally, Sugar Regulatory Administrator James Ledesma said leaders of the sugar industry are arranging a meeting soon with Roxas to address his concerns about the Biofuel bill.

Ledesma had earlier said the National Ethanol Council has already tagged several areas in the country that will be planted to sugarcane for ethanol production.

At the moment, he said the council considers Negros Occidental primarily as the country’s food hub for sugarcane, although he did not rule out the possibility of sugarcane farmers allocating a portion of their production to ethanol.

What is needed is a downtime of two years before bioethanol production can actually be started. First, a distillery needs to be constructed. Second, for the duration of its construction, sugarcane must be planted. This usually is a one-year crop. Thus, there will be one year preparation between sugarcane planting and harvesting before these can be churned out into ethanol.

The point is that the bioethanol plant must be assured of adequate supply of sugarcane. This becomes problematic when sugar farmers are undecided on whether to turn over the supply to ethanol or sugar production.

This seems to be the fundamental question hovering over the possibility of putting up an ethanol plant in Negros Occidental where sugar mills are already producing 57 percent of the country’s projected 2.1 million metric tons of sugar.

In short, Roxas is also correct. It cannot be an either or proposition that will assure that the bioethanol industry will flourish or go kaput.

Closure of sugar industry plunder issue

The Planters Against Plunder in the Sugar Industry (PABSI) appealed the other day to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to settle their claims during the Martial Law years.

The public appeal was made by PASPI members, headed by chairman Alfredo Hilado, after the failure of the BSP to heed numerous appeals since late last year. The group has been following up on the possible settlement of options for the loans obtained by sugar planters from the Republic Planters Bank that was subsequently taken over by the Philippine National Bank.

The problem seems to be that a memorandum of agreement between the PNB and the BSP would allow the former to hold on to millions of collectibles by the bank which could already balloon to hundreds of millions of pesos.

Hilado pointed out that the matter is more than just a simple issue of collecting monetary obligations.

"It affects the livelihood, properties, and the fate of a sizeable number of people in the sugar industry. It also provides a golden opportunity for the government, through the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and, hopefully, also the Philippine National Bank together with PAPSI and the RPB loan borrowers, to finally put a closure on the plunder issue that cling and bedevils these loans," the manifesto read.

Aside from Hilado, among the signatories to the open letter were Josemarie Tuvilla, vice chairman; Mrs. Regina Martin, secretary; and Joaquin Limjap, treasurer. The board members are Manuel Lacson, Mrs. Agnes Villar, Roberto Abellow, Ma. Isabelita Montinola, Jose Roberto, Caugoyin, Jose Ma. Carton, Jose Ma. Regalado and Santiago Franco Jr.

We hope that the BSP will not take too long in answering the PASPI members’ motion on the PNB counter proposal submitted to the BSP.

The PASPI manifesto stressed that followed up on the issue since early this year but were met with "stony silence."

Bacolod Pavilion braces for tourist inflows

The Bacolod Pavilion Resort Hotels is bracing for an influx of tourists to Bacolod with the opening of SM City this October.

Right now, Bacolod Real Estate Company (BREDCO) had given the go-signal for the construction of a three-story hotel in front of the Pavilion compound fronting’ the ferry terminal where boats traveling to Iloilo and Bacolod dock.

Ma. Angelica Sarrosa-Jesena said the Pavilion will soon put up a Marina Bar by the seaside to cater to a different market.

Other projects include the conversion of the Pavilion Bowling Lanes into a communication area and the use of some space for booths where products can be displayed.

Aside from the three-story hotel, Jesena said the Pavilion, initially started by Nena de Leon and Sammy Palanca, will put up several structures in the area.

Palanca disclosed that aside from the hotel now undergoing construction, he plans to up a nine-story condominium in the area. This will reportedly attract a new set of clients who will be investment conscious and help convert the area into a city within a city.