As part of the policy advocacy and networking activities of the National Geothermal Association of the Philippines (NGAP), some members of the 2018-2020 Board of Trustees (BoTr) met with key policymakers/stakeholders to introduce the new NGAP BoTr and explore possible collaboration to advance geothermal development in the Philippines.
On September 28, 2018, NGAP President Jeff Caranto, along with BoTr Edwin Alcober, Gina Pascual and Tin Rojo met with House of Representatives Committee on Energy Chairman, Rep. Lord Allan Jay Q. Velasco, to discuss the legislative priority of the Committee. Rep. Velasco, who was the Keynote Speaker during the 19 July 2018 NGAP General Assembly and Geothermal Conference, recognized the contribution of geothermal to the country’s drive for energy self-sufficiency and sustainability. As such, he reiterated his support for the retention of the incentives to the Renewable Energy (RE) sector, including geothermal, provided under the RE Law, which were being proposed to be deleted in the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High Quality Opportunities (TRABAHO) bill.
Also, last October 1, 2018, NGAP President Jeff Caranto, Treasurer Ariel Fronda (Division Chief GEMD-REMB-DOE), BoTr Larry Bayrante, Mitch Stark, Tin Rojo and Government Policy Committee member Loit Batac had a meeting with New Zealand Ambassador David Strachan, New Zealand Trade & Enterprise (NZTE) Commissioner Hernando Banal II and Maricon Popanes. The discussions centered on the long-standing partnership between New Zealand and NGAP, especially on the engagement of New Zealand companies for technical consultancies on geosciences and engineering requirements of the local geothermal companies. NGAP also expressed appreciation for the continuing opportunity to participate in the annual training for geothermal energy development in New Zealand for Philippine technical staff.
Lastly, on October 17, 2018, NGAP President Jeff Caranto, Government Policy Committee member Miko de Vera and TRAIN 2 TWG member Charles Capaque joined the representatives from the other RE industry associations (WEDAP, PSPA, CSDP and BREA) for a courtesy call with Senate of the Philippines Energy Committee Chairman, Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian. Aside from expressing support to the retention of the incentives for the RE industry under the RE Law, Senator Gatchalian also encouraged the RE developers to explore other mechanisms by which government can further accelerate RE development.
All these networking and courtesy calls were facilitated through the Government Policy Committee (GPC) of NGAP for the promotion of the interests of the geothermal community.