(Ni LILIBETH JULIAN)
Malawak na pang-unawa mula sa publiko ang hiling ng Malacanang sakaling hindi pa mailabas ang kabuuan ng nilalaman ng pinirmahang Memorandum of Understanding sa pagitan ng Pilipinas at China kaugnay ng joint coopera-tion for development of marine gas and oil sa mga pinagtatalunang teritoryo sa South China Sea.
Sa inilabas na statement, sinabi ni Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, nais itong busisiin ng Senado lalo na ang grupo ng oposisyon at handa naman itong ipaliwanag ng kinauukulang ahensiya ng gobyerno partikular ng Department of Energy (DoE) na kanyang pinamumunuan.
Ayon kay Cusi, titiyakin nito na anuman ang kalalabasan ng MOU ay mapoprotektahan ang long term energy security ng bansa.
Ang binabanggit na Memorandum of Understanding sa Joint Cooperation for Development of Marine Gas and Oil sa South China Sea ay nalagdaan sa pagitan ng Pilipinas at China sa katatapos na State Visit ni Chinese President Xi Jinping sa Pilipinas.
“The MOU signed with China provides a framework for any possible future cooperation, which may or may not in-clude joint exploration between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea. I must emphasize that whatever the outcome of this MOU, the rights of existing service contract holders will be protected. I understand that there is great interest in the MOU signed with China. I would ask for everyone’s patience until the full details are ready to be made public. As the Secretary of Energy, my priority is safe-guarding our country’s long-term energy security. a component of this is developing new indigenous energy resources in the West Philippine Sea”dagdag pa ni Cusi.
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