DOE taps universities for technical assistance

The Department of Energy (DOE) has teamed up with top Philippine universities for technical assistance and institutional capacity building to enhance the energy industry.

The first is a partnership with the University of the Philippines (UP) to champion the natural gas program of the country.

DOE Secretary Alfonso Cusi signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the UP Statistical Center Research Foundation Inc. (UPSCRFI) president Gervacio Selda Jr. for the implementation of the Philippine Downstream Natural Gas Industry Regulation (PDNGR).

He said the MOA is a major step in pushing the efficient and effective regulation of the country’s downstream natural gas industry.

“The Philippines has been striving to make waves in the energy industry. Looking at the country’s current energy landscape through the energy trilemma lens, we have been performing exceptionally well in terms of environmental sustainability, but lagging in terms of energy security and equity,” Cusi said.

“Projects like this, which help develop the country’s LNG industry, will bring us closer to attaining our energy goals in the midst of Malampaya’s forthcoming depletion and our ever growing energy demand. The country is open for business. The DOE is ready for business,” he said.

Under the agreement, UPSCFRI will render technical assistance to the DOE using the funds sourced from the Department of State of the United States of America.

UPSCRFI will provide policy recommendations; financial, technical and other relevant forms of assistance; and facilitate capacity building activities for the evaluation of natural gas investment project applications.

It will also participate in the crafting of technical, economic and financial guidelines, criteria, and systems that will be used as resources to review and evaluate proposals of investors to set up liquid natural gas (LNG)-related investment facilities. It will identify, organize and mobilize a technical working group that will review specific aspects of the LNG project proposals.

The DOE and UPSCRFI also agreed to jointly conduct specific research activities to provide broader and in-depth understanding of the LNG industry and other relevant policies.

It also inked a MOA with the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) for institutional capacity building.

Under the MOA, PUP will conduct post-graduate classes for qualified DOE employees for its Master’s degree in Public Administration (MPA).

DOE in turn, will transfer P4.2 million to PUP to cover tuition fees, miscellaneous fees and honorarium of professors and lecturers.

“It is our intent to further enhance the future leaders of the Department. On the technical aspect of capacity building, we are continuously updating our knowledge through local and foreign trainings, especially for modern technologies.

Through this MOA, we aim to nurture a primed workforce that is adept in the administrative aspect of our day-to-day operations. This would ease our processes within the Department, ensuring that we will be able to serve the public more efficiently and at a higher standard,” Cusi said.

There are 42 DOE employees who qualified for the postgraduate degree program after a stringent selection process.

The MPA degree program will run from CY 2018 to 2020 and the qualified participants will be required to maintain a general weighted average not lower than 2.0 as part of the standards set in the MOA.