Senator Pia Cayetano, the new chairperson of the Senate Committee on Energy, visited the Malampaya Shallow Water Platform (SWP) on June 28 to personally observe the operation of the country’s energy asset located 50 nautical miles off northern Palawan.
The shallow water platform presently provides 20 percent of Luzon’s power needs, serving as an essential part in addressing the country’s increasing energy demands.
“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,” Sen. Cayetano said.
Joining her on the visit were Guillaume Lucci, President and CEO of Prime Infra, and Donnabel Kuizon Cruz, General Manager and Managing Director of Prime Energy.
She met with the facility’s exclusively Filipino frontline staff, comprising engineers, technicians, and even its chef and kitchen team, acquiring knowledge about their daily routines on the platform and their responsibilities in maintaining its operation.
Sen. Cayetano expressed her intention to incorporate the principles of strategic foresight and futures thinking into her new position as the chairperson of the Energy Committee. Emphasizing energy security, dependability, and sustainability, she highlighted the significance of strategic, forward-looking planning to guarantee a consistent energy provision for future cohorts.
“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.
Lucci, for his part, thanked her for taking the time to visit the platform, stressing it has “tremendous impact” on all the staff and the team.
“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, Sen. Cayetano was in El Nido to conduct grassroots Padel clinics in collaboration with Padel Pilipinas, the country’s official padel federation recognized by the Philippine Olympic Committee.
Local young people and students from Palawan State University were asked to participate in the clinics, which were hosted at the Palawan Padel Club.
She also visited with members of El Nido’s women’s sector, where she commended them for their unshakable commitment to their families as caregivers and providers, and urged them to pursue educational possibilities.
