(L-R standing) Federico (Piki) R. Lopez, Chairman & CEO First Gen (FGen), together with officials of Tokyo Gas
(L-R seated) Former Ph Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Ph Pres. Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. , at a courtesy call of the Philippine Delegation with Tokyo Gas in Japan recently.
TOKYO, Japan — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. thanked Japanese company Tokyo Gas and Filipino-owned First Gen on Friday for partnering for a liquified natural gas (LNG) project in the Philippines.
Marcos met here in Tokyo with Tokyo Gas officials, led by president and chief executive officer Takashi Uchida, and First Gen chairman and CEO Federico Lopez.
“And so we are encouraged that in view of Tokyo Gas that it is worth the investment then we feel that we are going down the right path for our country’s energy mix,” Marcos said during the meeting.
“We are grateful for that vote of confidence that you have shown by your investment in the future of the Philippine economy, the future, especially of our energy supply from liquefied natural gas.”
The president said the Philippine government looks forward to using clean and renewable sources.
“And this was even before it was decided that LNG would create this large role in our energy mix because we are very much talking about the mix between renewables and traditional at the time. But now we are here now, and certainly, that is the most critical part of our plans for the future,” Marcos said.
However, Marcos said it would take time before both countries could reap the benefits of the LNG project.
“We are, generally speaking, [looking at] six, seven years. So even if we begin tomorrow, we still have to work six, seven years. And the question is what do we do in the meantime? We are examining the possibility… of course, take more traditional wind and solar power, geothermal, all of these. But it will take time to come into play because the infrastructure has to be put in place,” he said.
“That’s why we are doing all we can to find ways to further, to encourage extraction of LNG,” he added.
First Gen is expected to start the commercial operations of its LNG terminal in Batangas by June. First Gen would shoulder 80 percent of the project and Tokyo Gas 20 percent.
During his official visit to Japan, Marcos met with several stakeholders of different Japanese industries — automotive, tourism, semiconductor, and electronics, among others — to urge them to make investments in the Philippines.
A series of agreements and letters of intent have been signed between the two sides over three days.
According to the Department of Trade and Industry, 120 Philippine companies and 1,300 Japanese firms — involving over 3,472 business leaders from both sides — have attended several meetings here in Tokyo since Wednesday.
For this, Marcos said the Philippines owes Japan a debt of gratitude for supporting its economic growth.