The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry welcomed the appointments of Raphael Lotilla and Toni Yulo-Loyzaga as chiefs of the Energy and Environment Departments, respectively, amid the various challenges facing the country’s power and environment sector.

 

George T. Barcelon, president of the PCCI lauded President Ferdinand Marcos for naming Lotilla and Loyzaga, whom he described as the right persons to lead the DOE and the DENR.

 

“We welcome and congratulate the newly-named cabinet secretaries on their well-deserved appointments.  We trust that with their competence, vast experiences, and expertise, both will deliver and perform well in serving the people and our country,” Barcelon said.

 

The country's energy sector faces a looming crisis in fuel and power supply and this has been contributing to the uneasiness of the business sector in forecasting energy cost in their operations.

 

"We have vast mineral resources including mineral such as nickel, gold, copper, iron ore and forest within our shores.  Exploring and making full use of these resources can bring in much needed foreign earnings to cover high energy and essentials commodity imports" Barcelon said, citing the DOE and the DENR's important roles in the process.

 

He noted that the PCCI, through its Energy and Environment Committee, has crafted recommendations for short to medium and long-term plans to help the government address issues in the energy and environment sectors.

 

"The chamber has been actively meeting to come up with proposals on how to balance a stable economy and healthy environment as we make full use of our minerals resources," Barcelon added.  - Donna Brazas Angulo

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