Support for Gatchalian's re-election bid snowballs in energy industry

Support for the re-election of Senator Win Gatchalian in the Senate has snowballed with the declaration of endorsement of his candidacy from the Association of Visayas Electric Cooperatives (AVEC) and various players in the energy industry in a recently held e-rally.

Based on AVEC's Statement of Support to Gatchalian, it says Senator Win is the ideal and perfect example of a legislator and statesman whose time in the legislative arena made milestones and milestones on top of each other. It further says that what the lawmaker has done for the energy sector in the legislative and policy making arena is nothing short of outstanding and one that can be awarded with flying colors.

Gatchalian's six-year term as Senate Energy Committee Chairperson yielded the enactment into law of 11 energy-related measures aimed at reducing electricity costs and ensuring stable supply which he authored and co-authored. These include Murang Kuryente Act, Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop Act (EVOSS), Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act, and Microgrid Systems Act.

The Philippine Electric Plant Owners Association (PEPOA) and the Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance (PE2) echoed AVEC's position as they expressed their unqualified support to Gatchalian's candidacy. PEPOA is a group of privately-owned electric distribution utilities all over the country while PE2 is an organization of private and public sector energy efficiency market stakeholder entities.

"He has demonstrated in the past six years his commitment to the various players of this industry and exerted efforts to understand the dynamics of the power industry. And for this, we appreciate his efforts in coming out with bills that are well-balanced and do not compromise the interest of any of the stakeholders," PEPOA president Ranulfo Ocampo said.

For its part, PE2 thru its president Alexander Ablaza is behind Gatchalian in realizing the energy efficiency goals of the country.

"Your active push for energy efficiency legislation is something very, very new that a traditional lawmaker will probably not understand and it was this out of the box thinking and very progressive energy transition mindset that actually made the Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EEC) law a reality, breaking the 29-year gap without an EEC law because the old law lapsed in 1990," Ablaza said.

Meanwhile, Bicol Electric Cooperative Association (BECA) president Rodolfo Vargas also declared his unequivocal support for the re-election of Gatchalian saying that the senator showed unwavering support to the goals, projects and programs of rural electrification and he has been very consistent in his crusade to implement various projects in rural electrification and empower ECs for better services.

"A vote for Senator Gatchalian is a vote for stronger ECs," Vargas said.

Re-election ni Gatchalian sa Senado umani ng suporta sa industriya ng enerhiya

Nadagdagan pa ang hanay ng mga grupo sa industriya ng enerhiya na sumusuporta sa muling pagtakbo ni Senador Win Gatchalian. Ang pinakabagong nag-endorso -- ang Association of Visayas Electric Cooperatives (AVEC) na sinundan ng iba pang energy industry players.

Batay sa Statement of Support ng AVEC, sinabi ng mga miyembro nito na karapat-dapat at mahusay na halimbawa si Gatchalian bilang isang mambabatas at statesman at napatunayan na ang kakayahan sa lehislatura. Anila, pambihira at malaki ang kontribusyon ng mambabatas pagdating sa sektor ng enerhiya kasunod ng isinulong niyang mga panukalang batas.

Sa katunayan, labing isang mga panukalang may kinalaman sa enerhiya ang isinulong ni Gatchalian sa nagdaang anim na taon bilang Chairman ng Committee on Energy sa Senado. Kabilang dito ang Murang Kuryente Act, Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop Act (EVOSS), Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act, at Microgrid Systems Act.

Sinang-ayunan ng Philippine Electric Plant Owners Association (PEPOA) at Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance (PE2) ang posisyon ng AVEC nang ipahayag nila ang kanilang buong suporta sa kandidatura ni Gatchalian. Ang PEPOA ang kumakatawan sa mga pribadong electric distribution utilities sa buong bansa habang ang PE2 ay isang organisasyon ng mga pribado at pampublikong sektor ng energy efficiency market entities.

"Ipinamalas ni Gatchalian sa nakalipas na anim na taon ang pagtupad sa kanyang mga pangako sa mga industry players at nagsikap na maunawaan ang industriya ng enerhiya. Ang mga ito ay pinahahalagahan namin lalo na ang kanyang pagsisikap sa pagsusulong ng mga panukalang batas na balansiyado at hindi nakokompromiso ang interes ng sinumang stakeholder," ayon kay Ranulfo Ocampo, presidente ng PEPOA.

Suportado naman ng PE2, ayon sa presidente nito na si Alexander Ablaza, si Gatchalian sa kanyang layunin na maisakatuparan ang energy efficiency goals ng bansa.

"Ang aktibong pagsusulong ng panukalang batas ni Gatchalian para sa energy efficiency ay isang bagay na napakabago at malamang na hindi mauunawaan ng isang tradisyunal na mambabatas at itong klase ng out of the box thinking at napakaprogresibong energy transition mindset na ito ay nagresulta sa pagkakaroon ng Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EEC) law," sabi ni Ablaza.

Samantala, inendorso rin ni Bicol Electric Cooperative Association (BECA) president Rodolfo Vargas ang kandidatura ni Gatchalian. Ayon sa kanya, si Gatchalian ay nagpakita ng walang patid na suporta sa mga layunin at programang may kinalaman sa pagpapailaw sa kanayunan at pagpapahusay ng serbisyo ng mga electric cooperative.

"Ang boto para kay Senador Gatchalian ay katumbas ng boto para sa pagpapalakas ng electric cooperatives," sabi ni Vargas.