Atin Ito in Cebu: West Philippine Sea matters more now amid energy emergency

CEBU, Philippines – Amid a national energy emergency due to the Middle East crisis, civil society group Atin Ito, alongside economists such as former finance undersecretary Cielo Magno, urged Filipinos at a forum at the University of the Philippines Cebu (UP Cebu) on Thursday, April 16, to see the value of the West Philippine Sea as an “energy lifeline.”

Magno, citing 2021 data from the Department of Energy (DOE), said the West Philippine Sea has an estimated 6.203 billion barrels of total oil resources and 12.158 trillion cubic feet of total gas resources.

“The natural gas in the West Philippine Sea is equivalent to four Malampaya Gas Fields — that means the natural gas in this one is sufficient to support the demand of energy sa buong Pilipinas (in the whole Philippines),” Magno said.

Located offshore in the northwestern side of Palawan, the Malampaya Deep Water provides up to 40% of the Luzon region’s energy needs since its inception in 2001, according to the Malampaya website.

According to the DOE, the Malampaya gas field has proven reserves of 2.7 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas to 3.2 TCF, of which more than one TCF was already consumed. 

On January 19, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that around 98 billion cubic feet of gas were discovered some five kilometers east of the Malampaya field.

“If we’re using [resources in the West Philippine Sea] now, we won’t have an energy crisis,” Magno stressed.

Energy buffer

For Magno, the West Philippines Sea, where Chinese forces continue to harass Filipino seafarers and vessels, doesn’t just provide a stable supply of natural gas and oil but also acts as a “strategic energy buffer.”

The country currently imports 95–98% of its oil from the Middle East, while the remaining 2% comes from regional neighbors Malaysia and Brunei. After hostilities erupted in the Strait of Hormuz, Philippine ambassadors from around the world have been instructed to reach out to key countries to secure supply for the nation’s energy needs.

“Because of our dependency on the international market, we experience macroeconomic instability. Syempre imported ‘yan (Of course, it’s imported) so we have to use our dollars to buy oil,” Magno said.

Using the resources in the West Philippine Sea, the economist added, could be a form of insurance against global energy shocks like in the case of the Middle East conflict.

Despite tensions between China and the Philippines over territorial disputes, Marcos, in late March, said the country could restart and improve ties with Beijing to pursue joint energy exploration in the West Philippine Sea.

However, Jay Tarriela, a spokesperson for the Philippine Coast Guard, said during the UP Cebu forum that the Philippines maintains its exclusive rights to explore, exploit, and conserve resources on the West Philippine Sea.

Potential explorations

On March 28, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippines and China made initial exchanges on potential oil and gas cooperation during back-to-back meetings.

The DFA emphasized the need for diplomacy and communication for managing differences at sea, and upholding international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award.

1Sambayan, a political organization founded by former Supreme Court associate justice Antonio Carpio, announced on April 12, its position on the planned oil and gas exploration, development and utilization in the West Philippine Sea.

According to the group, any agreement with any foreign state or foreign corporation in the exploration, development and utilization of oil and gas within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the West Philippine Sea should comply with the following conditions:

• The agreement must expressly recognize that the oil and gas belong to the Philippine State
• The EDU of the oil and gas must be embodied in a Service Contract under Presidential Decree No. 87 (Oil Exploration and Development Act of 1972), as amended; and
• The Service Contract must be governed by Philippine Law. 

“These conditions make such agreement compliant with the Philippine Constitution, the July 12, 2016 Arbitral Award, and the 2023 Supreme Court Decision in Bayan Muna v. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo,” 1Sambayan said.

The DFA has assured that any potential joint oil and gas exploration with China, or any other country, would strictly adhere to Philippine laws “and in full assertion of its sovereign prerogatives.” – Rappler.com