Lawmakers are urging the government to invest in solar power to promote energy stability and attain energy independence from oil companies and traditional energy sources.
Rep. Teodoro Casiño (Party-list, Bayan Muna), principal author of House Bill 5405, said the objectives of the bill are to mitigate global warming and air pollution and encourage industry growth that will lead to more jobs and lower electricity bills.
“In an era of increasingly high prices and foreseeable decline of the global oil supply, government should at the soonest develop fuel alternatives and accelerate the exploration and utilization of renewable sources of energy,” Casiño said.
Casiño said Congress enacted Republic Act 9513 or the Renewable Energy Act in 2008 to encourage investments in renewable energy. “To complement this measure, it is also necessary to encourage demand and provide incentives especially to purchasers of small renewable energy systems,” Casiño added.
Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan (Party-list, Gabriela), another author of the measure said the Philippines will greatly benefit from using renewable sources of energy because of its clean and sustainable character.
Ilagan said solar technology can be an immediate and sustainable way to deal with the country’s energy problems, especially with the abundance of solar energy throughout the country and the modular nature of solar energy systems.
“Besides the country being the second in Southeast Asia in terms of irradiation and insolation, we already have the foundation to become a renewable energy leader in the region owing to the strong semi-conductor industry and the manpower base serving in the manufacturing and service sectors, especially the installers’ sub-sector,” Ilagan said.
Rep. Raymond Palatino (Party-list, Kabataan), one of the authors of the bill, said the measure provides for incentives and financing facilities to encourage the use of solar energy by ordinary electricity consumers like residences, offices and small and medium business establishments.
“It is hoped that through this, the demand for clean solar energy, as well as the opportunities for local manufacturing and related solar energy products and services will increase,” Palatino said.
