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Saturday, August 12, 2006
Automakers' anti-ethanol stand v. national interest
By Antonieta B. Lopez
THE opposition of some members of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) on the country's campaign for import fuels independence through the establishment of an ethanol industry is against national interest.
In a statement issued by the Philippine Fuel Ethanol Alliance yesterday, the Alliance said that some CAMPI members are reportedly blocking the passage of the Biofuels Bill.
The bill seeks to create a local biofuels industry as part of the country's energy security agenda amidst ever-escalating world oil prices.
It stressed that local production of biofuels is seen as an urgent and feasible solution to address over dependence on imported oil, which has seen yet another round of price spikes lately.
Businesses, especially jeepney and taxi operators, are already feeling the pinch of increased operation costs due to high prices of transport fuel, the statement said.
Despite public cries for solutions to address the impending oil crisis, some CAMPI members, including Toyota Philippines, are lobbying to stop the passage of the Biofuels Bill, the alliance said, adding that fears of these car firms are based on the purported effect of ethanol-blended gasoline to particular engine parts.
However, the Alliance has repeatedly asserted that such fears are unfounded as evidenced by the Worldwide Fuel Charter and the example of a number of oil firms who are already selling E10, or gasoline blended with 10 percent ethanol.
The group expressed suspicions that these car firms are merely protecting their own interests.
"What needs to be looked closely is the issue of smuggled car parts being used by these car firms. Engines are eventually assembled from these smuggled parts for the production of cheaper vehicles," the Ethanol Alliance warned.
Such vehicles, which do not conform to quality standards, stand to be the ones affected by E10.
"The prevalence of using ethanol-incompatible cars, most of them consisting of smuggled parts, must be addressed by strengthening regulation and implementing existing laws to address smuggling," the group added.
The group is actually surprised by the anti-ethanol stand of car firms such as Toyota Philippines, whose spokesperson, Jeff Matsuo, has openly opposed the passage of the bill authored by Bukidnon Rep. Juan Miguel Zubiri in the House and Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago in the Senate version.
"In Brazil, Toyota sells cars that can run on higher blends of ethanol. It shall also be introducing cars that can run on 85 to 100% ethanol in the United States by 2008. Clearly, there is something wrong with the stand of Mr. Matsuo and Toyota Philippines," the Ethanol Alliance wrote in a statement.
Fuel ethanol has been adopted as a reliable means to achieve energy independence and environmental quality in the United States, Brazil, Australia, the European Union, and India, China, and Thailand in Asia.
These countries have all instituted concrete programs to support fuel ethanol. In these countries, car manufacturers have openly supported the production and use of ethanol.
(August 12, 2006 issue)
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