PNOC honors energy industry trailblazers

Philippine National Oil Co. gave out Energy Trailblazer Awards to pillars of the country’s renewable energy sector in celebration of the company’s 38th anniversary on Nov. 9, 2011.

The “Trailblazer of the Trailblazers” award was posthumously given to former Energy Minister and PNOC president Geronimo Z. Velasco.

The other five awardees were trailblazers in the field of renewable and green energy: Arturo R. Alcaraz (geothermal), Gregorio A Anonas Sr. (hydropower), Mario V. Tiaoqui (wind), the late Wenceslao de Paz (solar) and Arthur Saldivar-Sali (natural gas).

“What better way to celebrate this occasion than to honor the people who mattered most in the history of renewable energy development in the country,” said PNOC president and CEO Antonio M. Cailao said in a statement.

“At present, the country’s energy self-sufficiency is 57.5 percent. Green energy accounts for 46.3 percent of our total primary energy mix—one of the highest in the world. And this is because of the pioneering efforts of these trailblazers,” Cailao added.

Velasco, the first energy czar, is the father and architect of Philippine energy policies and initiatives that paved the way to a number of successes in the Department of Energy’s mantra of ensuring energy security, optimal energy pricing and developing a sustainable energy plan.

In 1974, under Velasco’s leadership, the government took over the operations of Mobil and Esso, nationalized the Bataan Refinery Corp.

Another awardee, Arturo Alcaraz is considered the father of geothermal energy in the Philippines, which now accounts for 21 percent of the indigenous energy supply in the country.

Former National Power Corp. general manager Gregorio A. Anonas Sr. contributed largely to the establishment of the Caliraya Hydro Electric Plant, the first large hydropower plant in the country. Hydropower supplies 4.8 percent of the country’s energy needs today.