The government plans to use 347 hectares being used by oil refiner Petron Corp. for future energy projects if it wins a Supreme Court ruling, Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said.
Lotilla, chairman of Philippine National Oil Co., told ANC that the legal dispute between the state-run oil firm and Petron involves 347 hectares, including 247 hectares of the site of the 180,000-barrel-per-day Petron refinery in Bataan.
“Because if the property assets are transferred to Petron, there’s also the possibility that they’d rather use it for profit, not for infrastructure and economic development, right? Which is the government’s function, that PNOC, if it owns it, then it would be able to use the property primarily in order to facilitate investments in energy,” Lotilla said.
The Office of the Government Corporate Counsel, acting as PNOC’s legal representative, filed a second appeal with the Supreme Court challenging a ruling that affirmed a Court of Appeals decision.
That decision rescinded deeds of conveyance for the transfer of the properties to PNOC and ordered the properties returned to Petron.
Lotilla said the properties are important for energy security because “the refinery sits on a piece of land which is the largest contiguous piece of land that is dedicated for energy purposes.”
“And so, as we transition to cleaner technologies and even when, for example, with heightened electrification in the transport sector, there will come a time that petroleum will no longer be as important as it is today,” he said.
“And that means even the future of the refinery will not be as bright as it is right now. It will still be for some time. But by that time, the value of the land will be bigger,” Lotilla said.
Lotilla said the disputed sites may not be best for small modular nuclear reactors, but one property in Batangas could be used as a support base for offshore wind farms.
“So the moment that we lose this piece of property, then we’ll have to look around for some other,” he said.
Lotilla said the Supreme Court ruling could “destabilize the privatization process.”
“Because then, it means that we will now have to see, oh, we privatized also the Philippine National Oil Company-Energy Development Corp. Now, what properties were privatized along with it or not?” he said.
“So, these are the strategic reasons that we have to keep in mind in order for us to be able to ensure that our energy future is going to be secure. With this, well, it’s going to be rare that the Supreme Court changes its ruling, even after a second motion for reconsideration,” he said.
Government corporate counsel Solomon Hermosura said PNOC’s motion also challenges the undervaluation of public assets caused by the appellate court’s decision.
The OGCC said the decision transfers assets valued at P100 billion to Petron without just compensation. It said the dispute centers on three lease agreements for Petron’s service stations, bulk plants and refineries.
It cited past Supreme Court rulings that granted second motions for reconsideration in the “higher interest of justice” and urged the High Court to revisit the case and provide a more thorough review.