5% coconut biodiesel proposal to be reviewed by government oversight panel

March 9, 2019 |

In the Philippines, the government’s Congressional Oversight Committee on Biofuels will conduct a hearing on the Department of Agriculture’s proposal to increase the amount of coconut in biodiesel from the current 2% to 5%. Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol has been pushing for a higher coconut content in biofuels in order to help improve copra prices.

Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian, who has reservations about the proposal, told Business World, “We will try to convene next week, before the start of the campaign. Our counterpart in the House of Representatives will be campaigning beginning March 29. I hope that we can agree on action steps in order to move the industry forward and attain the goal of energy security and environmental sustainability as envisioned by the authors of the Biofuels Act.”

The senator also told Business World that the Department of Energy (DoE) and the National Biofuels Board (NBB) should “weigh the impact of increasing the biofuel content from B2 to B5, especially with the recent implementation of the new round of increases in the excise tax on fuel in January. After all, the law requires the recommendation of the NBB before the DoE decides to increase the blend.”

 

Category: Policy

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