Senator Raffy Tulfo vowed to support foreign investors in renewable energy (RE) amid complaints about problems and challenges encountered by these companies in the country.
Tulfo, who chairs the Senate Committee on Energy, made this promise in a dinner meeting with Singaporean business executives recently.
The dinner was attended by Lavan Thiru, Executive Director of Infrastructure Asia; Farchad Kaviani, Managing Director for Southeast Asia of SUEZ; Renee Mison, Executive Director of Go Circular; Kunal Shah, chief growth officer and Managing Director of Anaergia; and Jens Moller, engineering manager of Ramboll.
“Some of them are currently investing in the Philippines while others are just planning to invest,” he said in a news release.
During the meeting, the business executives discussed the benefits of waste-to-energy (WTE) as well as the obstacles they have encountered in operating it. They suggested policies and solutions that could be used for a successful WTE system.
The business executives also voiced their issues about the problems and challenges they encountered in establishing business in the country.
Tulfo said the meeting with the Singaporean business officials could help him and his legislative team in pushing for the swift passage of his WTE Bill which is now on the second reading.
Under Senate Bill 2267, the inclusion of WTE in the Philippine Energy Plan is mandated and will authorize local government units to enter into clustering arrangements and public-private partnerships for establishing WTE facilities.
The bill explicitly prohibits the use of imported waste as feedstock for waste-to-energy facilities as a safeguard from becoming a dumping ground for foreign waste.
The WTE Bill was among the measures sought by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in his first State of the Nation Address in 2022.
Tulfo noted the meeting could also help him and his legislative team in pushing for the swift passage of his WTE Bill.