A ranking leader of the House of Representatives has proposed an inquiry into an ongoing oil drilling activity in the Sulu Sea to guarantee the participation of the people of Sulu in forging decisions about the project and ensure its economic benefits are achieved without sacrificing the sustainability of the country’s rich natural resources.
National Unity Party (NUP) lawmaker Tupay Loong, who chairs the Committee on Muslim Affairs in the House of Representatives, said the inquiry into the drilling being conducted by Exxon Exploration and Production Philippines B.V. of its exploration well in the Sulu Sea is in line with Republic Act 9054, or the law creating the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Loong represents the 1st district of the island province of Sulu, which is part of the ARMM.
He also cited Section 2, Article XII of the Constitution on National Economy and Patrimony which clearly provides that "The exploration, development and utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and supervision of the State. The State may directly undertake such activities, or it may enter into co-production, joint venture, or production-sharing agreements with Filipino citizens, or corporations or associations at least 60 per centum of whose capital is owned by such citizens."
Loong said this constitutional provision further provides that "The President may enter into agreements with foreign-owned corporations involving either technical or financial assistance for large-scale exploration, development and utilization of minerals, petroleum and other mineral oils according to the general terms and conditions provided by law, based on real contributions to the economic growth and general welfare of the country."
In filing House Resolution 217, which seeks an inquiry into the Exxon drilling activity, Loong noted that the Sulu Sea is part of the territorial waters and national patrimony of Sulu. He said any contract entered into by the national government pertaining to the Sulu Sea should take the people of Sulu into primary consideration.
The Exxon project is under the Department of Energy’s Service Contract-56 (SC-56). The DOE said the contract is part of government efforts to encourage investments in the energy sector that will lead to energy security for the country. The exploration, now on its third phase, will be undertaken at no cost to the government, with all the risks borne by the contractors—ExxonMobil, Mitra and BHB Billiton—according to the DOE.
Loong pointed out that under RA 9054, the people of the Sulu Archipelago are given the opportunity to participate in decision-making pertaining to issues concerning their territory.
"Thus, the province of Sulu and its people [should] clamor for an inquiry whether they have an active involvement in the forging of SC-56 to its implementation," Loong said.
Loong said that with oil spills occurring not only here but in different parts of the globe, the people of Sulu are concerned over the possibility of a similar incident happening in the South Sulu Sea, which might cause irreversible damage to the ecological system and threaten their source of livelihood and employment.
"The service contracts of the oil exploration of the Sulu Sea should be scrutinized as to whether or not contingency plans that will prevent such an occurrence are provided therein, and its impact on our ecology and the cost of possible destruction of our biodiversity vis-à-vis its real contribution to the economic growth and general welfare of the country, especially to the people of Sulu," he said.
The lawmaker said the standards laid down by the DOE on the setup and implementation of the Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) Plan for the drilling are among the aspects of the project that his proposed inquiry seeks to investigate.