LAWMAKERS on Tuesday backed the expansion of the Philippines’s foreign policy recalibration under President Duterte, who recently announced the government’s plan to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties with several countries in the next three years.
Deputy Speaker for Finance Luis Raymund Villafuerte, in a statement, said President Duterte shifted his foreign policy recalibration to high gear during his just-concluded official visit to Russia that has led to stronger economic ties between Manila and Moscow.
“We expect stronger economic and political relations between Manila and other nations, including nontraditional allies, following the President’s commitment to further expand his foreign policy thrusts to include Latin America, Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East in the remaining half of his presidency,” said Villafuerte, who was part of the President’s delegation to Moscow.
During the President’s official visit to Russia, Villafuerte said the Philippines signed at least 10 business deals estimated to be worth $12.57 million.
Villafuerte, citing President Duterte, said the Philippines and Russia have agreed to broaden and deepen ties in all areas of cooperation, including security and defense, trade and investment, agriculture, energy, science and technology and sociocultural exchanges.
The lawmaker added that the two countries also signed bilateral cooperation agreements on the peaceful uses of energy, scientific research, health, culture and foreign policy consultations.
Energy building
For his part, House Committee on Energy Chairman Lord Allan Velasco, also part of the President’s official delegation to Moscow, said his committee is eyeing Russia as a partner in building new sources of energy for the Philippines.
According to Velasco, Russia is into various forms of energy production which could be tapped to help boost our country’s energy requirements.
“The issue of energy was one of the topics discussed in the bilateral talks between Russia and the Philippines,” Velasco said.
Velasco noted that 68 percent of Russia’s energy production comes from thermal energy, 16 percent from hydro and 16 percent nuclear.
“Russia is also known as having the largest natural gas reserves in the world; the second-largest coal reserves, and the eighth-largest oil reserves,” he said.
Velasco maintained that Russia and the Philippines may well be good partners in building more sources of energy in the field of natural gas and thermal energy production.
“We are rich in geothermal energy and our seas, we have lots of them, could also be harnessed for thermal energy production,” Velasco said.
He added the country is now geared toward cleaner sources of energy and that natural gas and geothermal energy could fuel the country’s electricity requirements.
He said that there are five natural gas plants in the Philippines, which in 2017, provided 22 percent of the country’s total power demand.
Velasco also said there is a need to develop and find more sources of natural gas the Malapaya gas fields is expected to hold only until the mid 2020s.
Image credits: AP