MANILA, Philippines- Isusulong ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. ang energy security interest ng bansa kapag nakiisa at sumama siya sa kanyang mga kapwa Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders sa isasagawang pagsasama-sama ng economic bloc sa San Francisco, California sa pagtatapos ng taon.
“I look forward to joining fellow APEC Leaders in California later this year. This will be my third trip to the US since I assumed office,” ayon kay President Marcos sa isinagawang courtesy call sa kanya ng US-ASEAN Business Council sa Palasyo ng Malakanyang.
“With energy security high in the economic agenda, we are particularly interested in sustainable land, water, and ocean solutions that align with our climate goals and support our plans to transform the Philippines into an upper Middle-Income Country by the year 2025,” dagdag na wika nito.
“All efforts to increase the number of power sources lean towards clean energy. That being the case, I am interested in the potential of nuclear energy, especially in light of new technologies and innovations that allow the use of smaller scale, modular, nuclear reactors, and other advanced [reactors] technologies that we see as being safer and more efficient than the more traditional designs of nuclear power production,” aniya pa rin.
Ang Pilipinas, ayon sa Pangulo ay aktibong makikilahok sa Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity at APEC meetings na humantong sa Leaders’ Summit sa San Francisco sa Nobyembre.
“Leading the charge are the ongoing discussions with the United States on the 123 Agreement, which will provide the legal framework for civil and nuclear-related investments, particularly nuclear power in the Philippines,” ayon sa Chief Executive.
Kasama ang Estados Unidos at iba pang katuwang, lalo na ang pribadong sektor, nangako ang Pangulo na magtatayo ng kinakailangang infrastructure para tulungang palakasin ang lumalagong ekonomiya, habang ang Pilipinas ay lilipat na sa “clean at renewable energy.”
“We recognize the rule that we have set for ourselves that is the slow transition…. We all have great hopes that the transition to renewables will be easy or simple. It turns out that is not going to be the case and we have to be realistic in this regard,” ang sinabi ng Pangulo sa US-ASEAN Business Council delegation.
“And so, the rule we [applied] for ourself…is that we must be able to provide sufficient power for the development of our industry, sufficient power so that we can expand the economy, and it must be accompanied by a continuing effort to move our power sources from the traditional fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy,” dagdag na wika nito.
Umaasa naman ang Punong Ehekutibo na makakakita siya ng mas maraming ‘engagements’ o kasunduan sa pagitan ng gobyerno at pribadong sektor lalo na pagdating sa paggamit ng financial resources para sa investments o pamumuhunan sa mga key areas gaya ng “critical infrastructure, research and development, at human capital development.”
Simula 1984, ang US-ASEAN Business Council ay nagsilbi na bilang premier advocacy organization para sa US corporations na nago-operate sa loob ng Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
“Worldwide, the Council’s membership of more than 170 companies generates almost USD 7 trillion in revenue and employs more than 14.5 million people,” ayon sa Malakanyang.
Ang Philippines Business Mission ay taunang pagpupulong ng mga miyembro ng US-ASEAN Business Council sa Philippine government, may kinatawan mula sa member companies nito na bumi-byahe sa Pilipinas upang maka-ugnay ang priority stakeholders at palakasin ang kahalagahan ng US-Philippines business relations.
“This is the USABC’s second in-person business mission to the Philippines since the COVID-19 pandemic. The last Philippines Business Mission was held on October 26, 2022,” ayon sa Malakanyang.
“Thirty American companies joined this year’s mission, the biggest delegation to visit the Philippines since they started conducting their annual business mission. This is also the first time that the Council met with a Philippine President in almost a decade,” ayon pa rin sa Malakanyang. Kris Jose
