PALAWAN – Senator Pia S. Cayetano, the new Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Energy, visited the Malampaya Shallow Water Platform (SWP) today to gain firsthand insight into the operations of the country’s energy asset.
The Senator was accompanied by Mr. Guillaume Lucci, Prime Infra President and CEO, and Ms. Donnabel Kuizon Cruz, Prime Energy General Manager and Managing Director, during the visit.
Located 50 kilometers offshore Northwest Palawan, the facility currently supplies 20 percent of Luzon’s electricity requirements, playing a crucial role in meeting the region’s increasing energy demands. Senator Pia met the facility’s all-Filipino frontline workers – including engineers, technicians, and even chefs – and learned about their daily life aboard the platform, as well as their crucial roles in ensuring the smooth operation of the facility.
“It’s an amazing experience for me to see how things operate, and to meet the people who do the actual work. I’m not an energy expert. But I like learning from the experts and talking to the people on the ground. As a legislator, these are important for me to understand – the depth of our problem on energy – so I can help by way of policymaking,” said the Senator, who now chairs the Senate’s Energy Committee.
The former Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Sustainable Development Goals, Innovation, and Futures Thinking, Senator Pia Cayetano said she plans to integrate the principles of strategic foresight and futures thinking into her new role as head of the Energy Committee. Focusing on energy security, reliability, and sustainability, she underscored the importance of long-term planning to ensure a stable energy supply for future generations.
“It’s about planning long-term. In this field, you need to have that outlook for the future, and our next big challenge is exploration and ensuring energy supply for the next 15-20 years,” she stressed.
“Kung ako ang tatanungin, ang priority ko ay energy security; na ang bansa natin ay hindi mapipilayan dahil wala tayong kuryente. Pwedeng magpatuloy ang negosyo, ang pang-araw-araw na kabuhayan ng tao, dahil may pagkukunan tayo ng kuryente. This issue affects our day-to-day lives. And we have to find long-term solutions,” she added.
Mr. Lucci, for his part, thanked the Senator for taking the time to visit the platform, stressing, “We are extraordinarily thankful for the visit. It had a tremendous impact on all the staff and the team. And it’s very rewarding to find ourselves in a position where at last, all the work that’s done behind the scenes that nobody is in fact fully aware of is happening day in and day out to keep the lights on, is being witnessed by a member of the Senate.”
Aside from her Malampaya visit, the Senator was also in El Nido to conduct grassroots Padel clinics in partnership with Padel Pilipinas, the country’s official padel federation recognized by the Philippine Olympics Committee. Local youth and students from Palawan State University were invited to participate in the said clinics held at the Palawan Padel Club. Later that day, Sen. Pia S. Cayetano met with members of the women’s sector of El Nido, where she praised the mothers for their tireless dedication to their families as both caregivers and providers and encouraged them to embrace education opportunities.