Pinaaaksyunan ni House Minority Leader at 4Ps party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan sa Department of Energy (DOE) at National Biofuels Board (NBB) ang rekomendasyon ng Department of Agriculture (DA) para sa paggamit ng five percent (B5) coconut biodiesel blend.
“We welcome the Department of Agriculture’s strong support for the B5 biodiesel blend. It recognizes what we have long maintained—that strengthening the coconut industry is not only sound agricultural policy but also good economic, energy, and environmental policy,” sabi ni Libanan.
“We urge the DOE and NBB to act on the DA’s recommendation with urgency and move forward with the higher biodiesel blend as envisioned under the Biofuels Act of 2007,” dagdag pa nito.
Ayon kay Libanan, tinutulan nito ang pagsuspendi ng DOE sa nakatakdang pagpapatupad ng four percent (B4) at five percent (B5) coco-biodiesel blend noong nakaraang taon dahil makakaapekto ito sa kita ng mga magniniyog.
Ang biofuel blending ay ang polisiya ng paghahalo ng biofuel gaya ng coconut-based biodiesel sa mga conventional petroleum fuel gaya ng diesel. Sa ilalim ng B5 blend, limang porsyento ng ibebentang diesel sa bansa ay biodiesel.
“We opposed the suspension because it ran contrary to the direction set by the Biofuels Act and denied millions of Filipino coconut farmers the economic opportunities that the higher biodiesel blend was designed to create. We remain convinced today that the suspension was a disservice to the millions of Filipinos who depend on the coconut industry for their survival,” sabi ni Libanan.
Ipinaliwanag ni Libanan na ang pagpapalawak ng paggamit ng coconut methyl ester ay magpapataas sa demand ng kopra kaya gaganda ang presyo nito at lalaki ang kita ng mga magniniyog, mababawasan ang paggamit ng imported na langis, at tataas ang paggamit ng clean energy.
“Behind every increase in copra demand are families struggling to put food on the table, send their children to school, and build a better future. Many of our coconut farmers continue to live below the poverty line. They deserve policies that expand economic opportunities—not policies that hold them back,” punto ng solon.
“We cannot speak of inclusive growth while neglecting one of the country’s largest and poorest agricultural sectors. Supporting a higher biodiesel blend means supporting rural livelihoods, strengthening our energy security, and creating greater value from a renewable resource that our own farmers produce,” dagdag pa nito.
Umapela si Libanan sa DOE at NBB na tapusin na ang technical at supply assessments sa rekomendasyon ng DA sa lalong madaling panahon.
Ayon sa Philippine Coconut Authority, nasa 3.5 milyon ang registered coconut farmers sa bansa na nangangalaga sa may 3.6 million ektarya ng coconut plantations sa buong bansa. Nasa 60% ng coconut farmers ang nasa ilalim ng poverty line.
Nasa 25 milyong Pilipino naman umano ang kumukuha ng ikabubuhay sa coconut industry.
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