CEBU CITY – Business leaders in the Visayas region has issued a resolution urging the Department of Energy (DoE) to require local oil companies to sign the Supply and Purchase Agreement as mandated by law.

“All liquid fuels for motors and engines must contain biofuels produced locally, with the Local Bio-ethanol Investors and Producers qualified under the implementing rules and regulations of the Biofuels Law of 2006,” read the proposed resolution made by Visayas chamber organizations during the recently concluded 19th Visayas Area Business Conference (VABC) held in Cebu City.

The proposed motion, which was released to media Thursday, will be submitted to Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry President, Ambassador Francis Chua later this month.

To increase competitiveness, the chambers asked the Tariff Commission to provide protection to the infant bio-fuels industry by increasing tariff on imported bio-ethanol fuel to 20 percent.

VABC 2010 Chairman and Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) Visayas Vice- President Francis Monera noted that power issues top main concerns by businessmen in the Visayas who are also strongly urging the Aquino administration to address with urgency.

Businessmen in Cebu, for instance, are pressing President Aquino, through the DoE, for” timely action on measures that would immediately address the power situation in the province.”

These measures include granting of permit to the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) to start commercial operations in the Visayas; approval of Time of Use (ToU) Rates for the Visayan Electric Company (VECO); and facilitation of other possible immediate short-term solutions to the power crisis.

Business leaders in Region 8, comprising the easternmost islands of the Visayas, that is, Leyte, Samar, and Biliran, are also urging Government to advocate for a preferential power rate for consumers in the region using geothermal energy which is more efficient and cheaper than all power generation alternatives.

They also sought for an allocation of 25 percent power reserve for Region 8 to satisfy the energy demand of the people in Eastern Visayas, before shedding the excess output to other areas.

The resolution also is also encouraging Government to add a provision to the Renewable Energy Law for the citizenry to have means to acquire affordable renewable energy materials or equipment such as solar panels. It also pushed for emphasis on Research and Development in the field of Renewable Energy.

These businessmen jointly agree that government must also consider investing heavily on both short and medium terms to long term solutions to curb the current energy supply crisis.

Among the short and medium term solutions include investing extensively in renewable and sustainable power generation alternatives – solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, and other eco-friendly alternatives.

A long-term solution also includes the need to examine very carefully the option of using nuclear energy for future power needs, the Visayan businessmen stated.