Aksyon Demokratiko standard-bearer and Manila Mayor Francisco Isko Moreno Domagoso vows to work for the full development of natural gas reserves in the Liguasan Marsh located in Maguindanao province, which forms part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
“God have mercy, if we succeed in becoming the president of the country, I will see to it that the natural gas deposit in Liguasan Marsh will be fully developed so that our country will not always be dependent on imported fuel which is subject to price increases when there is a conflict like in Ukraine and Russia,” Moreno said in an interview with reporters in Iligan City, Lanao del Norte.
According to a government survey, the area beneath Lake Buluan in Maguindanao’s Liguasan Marsh contains an estimated 68 billion cubic feet of gas worth at least $1 billion or P52 billion It is also believed to contain oil and coal if deeper digging is made.
“As we all know, there is a recent development that the Liguasan Marsh has deposits of natural gas and possible oil. So it really proves that Mindanao can save our country from our daily needs and in the future, especially oil, which is a problem of human life because we depend on the crude oil we import from various sources abroad. When there are incidents such as the explosion of an oil plant in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine, the price fluctuates and we have no control over that price. That is the world market price, so based on supply and demand,” Moreno explained.
Former Maguindanao Rep. Zajid “Dong” Mangudadatu had said the unexploited gas field has become a source of cooking gas for residents. The provincial government of Magundanao even distributed cooking stoves so that residents can make use of the methane gas freely coming out of the marshland.
“I think in 25 years that can be developed. I am very optimistic that the Philippines will be the next Dubai,” Mangudadatu said.
The Mangudadatus of Maguindanao led by Gov. Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu have thrown their support to the presidential candidacy of Moreno. During a sortie in Maguindanao in February 20, at least 50,000 residents of Buluan welcomed Moreno and his senatorial candidates with the Mangudadatus pledging their full support to make him win in BARMM.
Moreno meanwhile lauded President Rodrigo Duterte when he asked the BIR in his weekly televised public address aired Tuesday night why it has not yet collected a certain estate tax.
Without naming names, the President said the BIR should not be reminded about its mandate to collect the said estate tax.
Moreno said an initial amount of P2 billion is needed to initially explore the Liguasan Marsh to have a clearer estimate of how much natural gas, and even oil, is deposited under the 220,000-hectare wetland that borders the provinces of Maguindanao, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat.
Records show that BARMM’s Regional Board of Investments (RBOI) has granted a provisional registration to ES Maulana Global Ventures Company Inc. as an investor in the Bangsamoro region. ES Maulana is owned by Cotabato City-based engineer Esmael Maulana and is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company has paid a non-refundable P2 million to the Department of Energy (DoE) to obtain the service contract. The firm’s proposed petroleum investment in the BARMM was lodged under DoE’s Philippine Conventional Energy Contracting Program.
ES Maulana was the only applicant for the exploration and development of predetermined areas in Block 10 in Cotabato Basin and Block 6 in the Sulu Seas Basin.
According to the company’s brief, it has acquired Block 10 of the Cotabato Basin with an area of 384,000 hectares and the Liguasan Marsh and Sulu Sea Basin Block 6, straddling about 1.3 million hectares.
The DoE has yet to award the service contracts for the petroleum projects in BARMM despite the fact that the company’s proposed investment for the Cotabato and Sulu basins would amount to nearly P1 billion.
Awarding of the service contract for ES Maulana was held in abeyance by the DoE, pending discussions at the Inter-governmental Relations Body involving petroleum investments in the Bangsamoro region.