MANILA - The chair of the House Ways and Means Committee on Saturday stressed the need for the country to move towards nuclear energy generation amid "thinning power reserves" as baseload coal power plants continue to experience shutdowns. Albay Rep. Joey Salceda said there is no fuel cleaner than nuclear, which is also a more stable energy source run by a predictable fuel supply. Salceda said President Rodrigo Duterte is on the right path with the issuance of Executive Order 164, which aims to introduce nuclear energy into the country's energy mix, as this will address the high electricity rate and secure energy for the future. "And I can think of the ways we can complement that with good policy," Salceda told reporters in a Viber message, as he proposed the franchise approach to nuclear energy. "I don't want government spending money on it, given our fiscal issues. But we can collate a fiscal incentive package under the CREATE (Corporate Recovery and
(PNA file photo by Ben Briones) MANILA - The House Committee on Energy, chaired by Pampanga 2nd District Representative Juan Miguel "Mikey" Macapagal Arroyo, has passed important laws to ensure adequate and affordable power and fuel in the country, while continuing to find ways to further improve the local industry and economy. In a statement on Sunday, Arroyo said aside from the proposed amendments to Republic Act (RA) 8479 or the "Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998", his committee has tackled and approved several important pieces of legislation that will further develop, upgrade and modernize the local energy sector. RA 8479 removed government control on the pricing of petroleum products allowing market forces to dictate oil prices. The Committee on Energy is one of the largest in the House of Representatives, as it has 65 members including the chairperson and nine vice chairpersons. The committee has general and exclusive jurisdiction over all matte