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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday unveiled eight new Petroleum Service Contracts (PSCs) for oil exploration areas in different parts of the country, which the government said would pave the way to accelerate domestic energy exploration and production.

The eight contracts – covering exploration areas across the Sulu Sea, Cagayan, Cebu, Northwest Palawan, East Palawan, and Central Luzon – are the largest batch of PSCs awarded in a single period in the country’s history.

‘These service contracts represent our continued efforts to attain greater energy security, and therefore, economic stability, and self-reliance,’ Marcos said during the presentation of the PSCs at Malacañang.

Collectively, the contracts represent a potential investment commitment of around $207 million (around P12 billion) over a seven-year exploration period.

The new contracts also include the world’s first competitive bid round for native hydrogen – a clean, zero-carbon source of energy which the President said to be ‘[holding] immense promise for our country and for the world’ – alongside co-managed petroleum projects with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

‘Consequently, these efforts will capture the interest of more international partners to invest in our country and to join our quest to discover new indigenous resources,’ Marcos said.

‘But, with every partnership comes a greater challenge: to ensure that progress is achieved with integrity, responsibility, and with respect for our people,’ he added. In a statement, the Department of Energy (DOE) said all the eight PSCs have undergone a transparent and competitive selection process under the Philippine Conventional Energy Contracting Program (PCECP).

It ensured that exploration rights were granted to legally, financially and technically qualified proponents. PSC Nos. 80 and 81 were awarded to a consortium composed of Australia-based Triangle Energy (Global) Ltd., United Kingdom-registered Sunda Energy Plc; and local firms PXP Energy Corp. and The Philodrill Corp.

Co-managed by the DOE and the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources, and Energy of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM-MENRE), these service contracts aim to revitalize petroleum exploration in the southern Sulu Sea, generating new economic and employment opportunities for communities across BARMM and Mindanao. PSC 80 covers approximately 780,000 hectares, while PSC 81 spans about 532,000 ha.

PSC No. 82 located in Cagayan basin and has an area of 480,000 ha was awarded to Triangle Energy (Global) Ltd.

PSC Nos. 83 and 84, both for native hydrogen exploration in Central Luzon, were awarded to United States-based Koloma Inc. SC 83 covers 126,645 hectares while SC 84 covers 85,082 ha.

PSC No. 85, covering 127,475 ha in onshore Cebu, was awarded to Gas 2 Grid Pte. Ltd.

PSC No. 86, awarded to a consortium of Filipino companies composed of The Philodrill Corporation, Anglo Philippine Holdings Corp., PXP Energy Corp., and Forum Energy Philippines Corp., covers 132,000 ha in the Northwest Palawan Basin.

PSC No. 87, located in the East Palawan Basin, was awarded to Ratio Petroleum Ltd. of Israel. This is the company’s second petroleum service contract in the country, following PSC 78, also situated in the East Palawan Basin.

No China interference

In a message to reporters, Energy Secretary Janette Garin said they were not expecting interference from China, especially on PSC 86, which is located offshore west of Palawan in the West Philippine Sea.

‘But all projects are well coordinated with the DND (Department of National Defense), whether near the disputed areas or not,’ she added.

As of Wednesday, service contractors may now commence their respective activities, including geological and geophysical surveys such as seismic and aeromagnetic studies to identify drillable prospects, with the potential to discover both native hydrogen reservoirs and new petroleum fields.

Marcos encouraged the service contractors to turn their investments into ‘engines of progress.’

‘Operate with accountability, with respect for the environment, and fairness towards the communities that host your operations,’ the President said.

‘Let us prove that responsible enterprise and national development can go hand-in-hand – that growth built on transparency and responsibility is growth that will last,’ he added. Service contractors will fund and undertake educational scholarships, capacity-building, and community development programs even during the early exploration phase, according to DOE.

Once production begins, host communities will further benefit through infrastructure development, social programs, and local employment opportunities generated by these projects.

According to the DOE, the eight PSCs reflect the renewed investor confidence in the Philippine upstream energy sector, opening for new gas exploration initiatives amid the decline of the Malampaya Gas Field. The Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project, the country’s first and only indigenous gas resource, currently supplies about 40 percent of Luzon’s electricity needs. It was commissioned in 2001, but is expected to be commercially depleted by 2027 with its supply expected to dwindle starting in 2024.

In May 2023, Marcos signed the Renewal Agreement of Service Contract No. 38 (SC 38), which allows the continued extraction of natural gas from a portion of the Malampaya gas field until February 2039.The $893-million project involves drilling two new deep water wells, Camago-3 and Malampaya East-1, along with Bagong Pag-asa-1, a new exploration field.

Drilling operations operations under the Malampaya Phase 4 Project started by end-June. The government expressed optimism in finding more gas reserves at Malampaya, with the project’s timely deployment for drilling to help in attaining the goal of delivering ‘first gas’ by the fourth quarter of 2026.

Malacañang expressed confidence on Wednesday that outgoing Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla will fulfill his mandate as ombudsman for the interest of the entire country, and not for just a select few – not even the Marcos administration’s political agenda.

‘His appointment as Ombudsman must be marked by transparency and accountability – that those who should be held accountable must indeed be held accountable. Ombudsman Remulla works for the entire nation, and not for any single sector or group of Filipinos,’ Palace press officer Claire Castro said in a briefing.

She brushed aside allegations that among the focuses of Remulla’s work as the new ombudsman was to investigate the alleged misuse of the confidential funds by Vice President Sara Duterte.

Critics claimed this could lead to her incarceration, or worse, her dismissal from public office, which would bar her from seeking the presidency in the 2028 elections.

‘Whatever needs to be investigated must be investigated – nothing should be ignored or brushed aside. Whatever the public has the right to know must be properly looked into by the ombudsman,’ Castro noted.

Malacañang maintained that the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), and not the Office of the Ombudsman, should take the lead in investigating alleged anomalies in flood control projects and related infrastructure.

Castro dismissed calls to abolish the ICI just because Remulla was appointed as the next ombudsman. While Remulla was familiar with the flood control projects under scrutiny, Castro rejected the idea that the Ombudsman should single-handedly conduct the investigation, raising concerns about possible delays.

‘The ombudsman does not focus only on flood control projects. There are many cases that the Ombudsman needs to pay attention to. So, we do not see this as a reason to abolish or end the work of the ICI,’ she said.

Castro told critics: ‘Would they really want the ombudsman alone to handle all of this? How long would it take for a single case to be resolved that way? That’s why there truly needs to be an independent commission that will focus on the issue.’

She added that the work of the ombudsman and the Department of Justice (DOJ) would be expedited once the ICI completed its document gathering and preliminary investigations into the anomalous flood control projects.

As the new ombudsman, Remulla yields considerable power. He is set to lead the constitutional body empowered by the 1987 Constitution to prosecute, suspend, fire, and even file criminal cases against erring government officials.

‘The administration remains firm in its commitment to fight corruption wherever it exists. As ombudsman, Remulla is expected to uphold transparency, strengthen anti-corruption measures, and ensure that justice is administered fairly and efficiently,’ Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Dave Gomez earlier said in a press briefing announcing his appointment.

‘There will be no sacred cows, no exemptions, and no excuses. Public office is a public trust, and those who betray it will be held accountable,’ he added.

Malacañang defended the President’s decision to pick Remulla despite concerns from critics of the administration – including presidential sister Sen. Imee Marcos – that he was too beholden to the President and would erode the credibility of the Office of the Ombudsman. ‘Secretary Remulla went through a very stringent process required under our Constitution. He was vetted by the JBC, and appointed by the President. I don’t believe that there is a basis to that concern,’ Gomez told reporters.

Detour bridges will be built and cargo barges will be used after Paggitan Bridge in Alcala, Cagayan collapsed on Monday, Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon said Wednesday.

Upon inspection of the bridge with Cagayan Governor Edgardo Aglipay and Alcala Mayor Christina Antonio, Dizon said the Paggitan Bridge is one of five critical bridges used to transport agricultural goods, and with the bridge’s collapse, the alternative route is over 82 kilometers or two hours longer.

‘For trucks, it’s an additional 80 kilometers, So you can just imagine the impact that has on the logistics cost of these essential goods, that’s food. That’s a big deal. Plus, the trip is probably more than two hours. So we need to have an alternative way to transport the goods,’ Dizon said in Filipino Hence, Dizon ordered the DPWH Cagayan regional director to start building a detour bridge.

‘We will mobilize emergency and disaster funds, because even though this is not a disaster, it is a man-made disaster that we need to act on quickly. So we will build a bridge here starting in the next few days. I have already given the go signal to RD to have emergency procurement so that it can start immediately,’ Dizon said.

In the meantime, Aglipay suggested the use of barges to transport goods.

Dizon said that he has discussed the matter with Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez. Dizon also ordered the DPWH regional director in Cagayan to establish detour bridges for the other four bridges used to transport essential goods in Cagayan.

‘The four other critical bridges, I told RD, are that we should also build a detour bridge, right now. Let’s get started, because I wouldn’t be surprised if the situation of this bridge is the same as the situation of our four other critical bridges here in Cagayan,’

Dizon also suggested that if these initiatives are successful, they will know what to do should other bridges also collapse, emphasizing that he will ‘not be surprised’ if more bridges nationwide break down in the same manner.

On Tuesday, Dizon instructed all DPWH officials to coordinate with local and provincial government units to assess the bridges in their respective areas.

He also asked the officials to implement traffic management measures, suggesting that a proper management on the Paggitan Bridge could have avoided the collapse.