Risky business...

ernment coffers,” she said.

Compared to other countries in the region, primarily Indonesia, Monsada noted that the country has to comprehensively realize that petroleum and exploration opportunities in the Philippines are way too marginal and extremely risky for investors to even consider taking a second look.

Monsada added that the department’s interpretation of the provisions of President Decree 87 or the Oil and Gas Law is for the government to take on the income tax payments of the Malampaya contractor and integrate such as part of the State’s 60-percent royalty share.

“We are just implementing the contract that we have with the Malampaya consortium… this is a DOE position,” she stressed, apparently referring to Service Contract 38 for the field’s development which is in an initial 25-year contractual arrangement with Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (Spex) and co-interest holders Chevron Malampaya LLC and staterun Philippine National Oil CompanyExploration Corporation.

Leaning on that and absent any further legal interpretation or a ruling from any Court, she stressed that they are not collecting yet the tax imposition on the Malampaya consortium as ordered by the Commission on Audit.