Lawmaker seeks amendments to law on Malampaya fund use

A senior administration lawmaker has proposed amendments to the law governing the use of the P183-billion Malampaya Fund to enable the government to lower power rates.

Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Rodel Batocabe filed House Bill 3593 seeking to amend the Marcos-era Presidential Decree 910 that created an Energy Development Board for the specific use of Malampaya funds.

“If passed into law, the bill will provide specific purposes to the discretionary use of billions of pesos in the Malampaya fund, at the same time providing transparency to the use of the fund,” he said.

Batocabe lamented that while the fund has now reached P183 billion, “the law creating such fund does not provide any specific purpose for the use of these funds nor are these funds being used for purposes of the Malampaya project.”

“We want to utilize funds which are not being used for the good of all the people, in line with the policy of this administration to lower power rates,” Batocabe said.

PD 910 provides for the specific use of Malampaya funds to finance energy resource development programs and projects of the government and for such other purposes as may be directed by the President.

The Supreme Court noted that the Malampaya Fund has been used arbitrarily by past governments borne out of the phrase “…and for such other purposes as may hereafter directed by the President” even if these were for “non-energy related purposes.”

The high court made the observation when it struck down the pork barrel funds in November 2014.