Transport operators plead for CNG case anew

Operators of buses running on compressed natural gas (CNG) have appealed to the Department of Energy to ramp up initiatives that will boost the use of natural gas for transport which, in turn, will help ease the country’s fuel cost problems.

In a statement, CNG bus operators even claimed they would forego future applications for fare hikes, as long as the government would commit itself to push through with a program that called for the acquisition of two mother stations and three daughter (refilling) stations, apart from 1,000 buses running on CNG by 2014.

“The apparently continuous neglect of the government in adopting this clean fuel that would stabilize the volatile transport fares, is tantamount and equivalent to denial of the Filipinos the benefits of clean environment and stable and low transport fares,” the operators stressed, further noting that the use of CNG for public transport is the “neglected solution to transport fare hikes.”

The CNG bus operators issued the statement after it noted that the government yet again failed to take concrete steps to overhaul the CNG bus program as promised, through the acquisition of the two compressed natural gas stations owned and operated by Pilipinas Shell.

The acquisition of the CNG facilities—a mother station in Batangas and a daughter (refilling) station in Laguna through PNOC Exploration Corp.—was expected to revive the seven-year natural gas program of the previous administration and propagate the use of this alternative fuel, but through a different approach.

Following the takeover, PNOC-EC will become the new operator of the mother and daughter (refilling) CNG stations.

The CNG will still be provided by the consortium operating the Malampaya gas site off Palawan.

PNOC-EC is also expected to spend some P400 million to put up an additional CNG station in Batangas and another set of mother-daughter stations by 2012.