AN article in the Philippine Star written by Mary Ann Reyes and published last December 17, focused on the merits of what she calls a “Rising Energy Player.”
The so-called “Player” is Prime Infra’s Chairman, and presidential BFF, Enrique Razon who, it can be recalled, purchased Shell’s participating interest in Malampaya a mere 15 days after President Bongbong Marcos’s inauguration on June 30, 2022.
The deal had been “facilitated” by Department of Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla and quickly approved by President BBM.
Mr. Lotilla claimed, falsely for that matter, that our own national oil company, the PNOC, which has been in operation for the last 49 years, does not have the necessary skills to take over Malampaya.
The Malampaya scam began three years earlier when Duterte crony, Dennis Uy, bought Chevron’s Malampaya interests, a deal likewise “facilitated” by then-DOE Secretary Alfonso Cusi.
The transaction was severely criticized for having been rushed to completion without the necessary vetting of Uy’s company Udenna, which was technically and financially unqualified to become a service contractor.
Private citizens accused Cusi, Uy, and the Philippine National Oil Company board of corruption, and filed a case with the Ombudsman, which has now been elevated to the Supreme Court.
At the same time, Chevron faces a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit while California Attorney General Rob Bonta looks into possible Chevron infractions under California state law.
It is more than a shadowy coincidence that in both above transactions, the same illegal process took place under two different presidents, Duterte and Marcos, who created the much lauded UniTeam but eventually parted ways.
Unity in what exactly?
Like Dennis Uy’s Udenna, Enrique Razon’s Prime Infra is itself technically unqualified, having had no previous experience whatsoever in the oil and gas industry, and its financial viability in serious doubt, the deal having simply been funded by bank loans.
To refer to Prime Infra as a rising energy player is “adding insult to injury.”
Ms. Reyes cannot possibly be ignorant of the fact that Malampaya, which is our country’s richest natural resource, was given away to the politically well-connected private sector at the cost of 100 million pesos or $1.8 million a day in revenue, money which rightfully belongs to the Filipino people.
That President Marcos has even extended the Malampaya contract for another 15 years is hardly worthy of praise since it simply underscores further losses to our people of funds that could have been used to alleviate the perennial problems of our poor.
What Mr. Razon claims to be “a significant development for the country’s energy security and independence” is simply a ploy to add yet more wealth to his private coffers.
That Ms. Reyes is touting Prime Infra’s activities as a boon not just to our economy but to our national pride is not just a tragic mistake, but a highly suspicious effort to benefit from the good graces of our reigning oligarchy.
As a writer, Ms. Reyes should have done her job in an impartial way by digging facts and information diligently in order not to appear building good public image about Mr. Razon.
As a Filipino citizen, Ms. Reyes should be on our side, screaming for justice!
Return Malampaya to the Filipino people!
Sincerely,
NATIONAL YOUTH MOVEMENT FOR THE WEST PHILIPPINE SEA
nymwps.net
