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Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Councilors ask Senate to approve ethanol bill
DAVAO City councilors are now pushing for cheaper transportation fuel from alternative sources of energy as sugarcane, corn, cassava, sorghum, and cellulose waste.
This developed after the City Council passed a resolution endorsing the passage of Senate Bill 1677, which promotes the use of ethyl alcohol or ethanol as alternative transport fuel to spur ethanol production primarily from sugarcane, corn, and cassava.
Councilor Pilar Braga, author of the resolution, said the Senate bill aims to promote the use of ethanol as an alternative fuel through the establishment of a government-funded National Fuel Ethanol Program.
Braga quoted Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr., the bill's author, as saying the use of ethanol should be part of the government's program to develop indigenous energy sources aimed at reducing the country's dependence on imported oil whose world prices continue to rise.
The bill "aims to revive the National Alcogas Program, a former government initiative of producing non-conventional and replenishable sources of energy and fuel," Braga said.
She also quoted Pimentel as saying ethyl alcohol production would have various positive effects on the country's present economy, as it had been expected to alleviate the plight of the nation's sugar industry.
"The senator from Mindanao has also said such production will generate employment, enhance the technological and engineering position of the country, and provide a continuous flow of purchasing power to rural areas," Braga added.
Under the bill, Braga said, the Department of Energy would be mandated to become the lead agency in implementing the fuel ethanol program, as the bill would also define the functions of other government departments in pursuing the same program.
The Senate bill would also mandate the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to provide the necessary research and development support in the utilization of ethanol feed stocks such as cassava, sorghum, and cellulose waste conversion of ethanol to high-value products, Braga said.
It would also mandate the DoST to provide the necessary research and development support in the efficient fermentation and distillation techniques, stillage treatment, and utilization of ethanol byproducts, Braga revealed.
Further, she said the bill would mandate the Department of Agriculture to study the technical aspects and problems of ethanol production from corn and cassava and prepare an economic cost analysis of ethanol production.
The bill would also mandate the Department of Trade and Industry to plan, design, and manufacture car and truck engines that would accommodate this programmed shift to ethanol fuel and incorporate this into the progressive car and truck manufacturing program, Braga added.
Moreover, she said the bill would mandate the Department of Finance to make recommendations on the extent of reduction or elimination of sales taxes on ethanol to compete effectively with gasoline prices at gas pumping stations.
"The same bill aims to mandate government and private financial institutions to provide credit facilities to farmer's cooperatives and individual farmers who shall participate in the mass production of the raw materials for ethanol," Braga stressed.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (December 20, 2005 issue)
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