BIZ BUZZ: Lotilla bows out of DOE
Raphael Lotilla is officially out of the Department of Energy (DOE) and moved to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Monday.
The question is—is the Philippine energy sector in a better position now than three years ago when he joined?
Lotilla, who returned to the DOE in 2022 for his second stint, isn’t one to assess his performance or brag about his achievements on lowering power rates or encouraging investments in the industry.
“In these things, I am not the best judge of that. It is for consumers themselves to judge for themselves,” Lotilla said in a press briefing.
“I think I would leave that to be answered by you and by the public. What I’m just asking you is, are you better off now in terms of energy security and energy supply than before, than three years ago? So, you are the best judge of that,” he told reporters.
Pointing out the “legacy work” of her predecessor, DOE officer in charge Sharon Garin said Lotilla had laid the groundwork to ensure better energy prices and supply security. According to Garin, some of the strides made by the agency include signing a contract for harnessing indigenous gas for the first time and establishing the foundation for tapping nuclear energy and opening up renewable energy investments to foreign entities.
“You don’t reap today the benefits of what the secretary has done. Just be patient. It’s not immediate where we can declare, ‘Lower your electricity rates.’ We have transmission, generation and distribution that we have to [put] in place,” Garin said.
The DOE has already instituted policy reforms for the energy sector, but there is still much left to be done for Garin, the next energy secretary.
