Energy security among top Marcos goals in Apec meet

Ensuring the country’s energy security will be a key thrust of President Marcos when he attends the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) leaders’ summit in San Francisco, California, later this year.

“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,” Mr. Marcos said on Aug. 9 in his remarks during the courtesy call of US-Asean Business Council executives in Malacañang.

The President mentioned nuclear power as one of the country’s possible sources of clean energy in the future.

“All efforts to increase the number of power sources lean toward 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,” he said.

The Philippines, the President said, is actively participating in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity and other meetings leading to the Apec leaders’ summit on Nov. 15 to 17.

Need to be realistic

He said there are ongoing discussions with the United States on the 23 Agreement, which will provide the legal framework for civil and nuclear-related investments, particularly nuclear power, in the Philippines.

Together with the United States and other partners, especially the private sector, Mr. Marcos said the government will build the necessary infrastructure to help power a growing economy, as the Philippines transitions to clean and 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,” he said.

“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.” he added.

—Jerome Aning INQ