Bus operators in Laguna ask govt to ensure supply of natural gas

Bus operators in Laguna, anticipating a high volume of passengers during the Holy Week, asked the Department of Energy (DOE) to ensure that there would be an adequate supply of compressed natural gas (CNG) in the province. The operators of buses running on CNG made the appeal as they noted that there is only one CNG refilling station in Laguna province. The operators submitted their plea despite an earlier assurance from the DOE that a CNG refilling station will be put up in Metro Manila. RRCG bus president Roberto Torres said bus operators are hoping that there will be continous supply of CNG in Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp.'s station in Mamplasan, Laguna. "Historically, the daughter station encounters all kinds of problems at times when we need the CNG supply most," Torres said in a statement. Enough supply On the other hand, Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras assured bus operators that there will be enough supply of CNG because the Philippine government is committed to promoting the use of alternative fuel. Almendras said the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) Exploration Corporation intends to put up a CNG refilling station in Metro Manila, most likely along EDSA. He said PNOC Exploration's parent firm, PNOC, will also invest in CNG buses. Lower-priced fuel Many bus operators have shifted to using CNG as an alternative to higher-priced diesel. Since January this year, the prices of petroleum products rose around 11 times. This translates to a price hike of P7.50 per liter for gasoline and P7.70 per liter for diesel. Diesel currently costs P P46 to P47 per liter. On the other hand, CNG costs only P18.38 per kilogram or P14.52 per normal cubic meters. Natural gas program In 2004, the Philippine government issued Executive Order 290 which paved the way for the implementation of the Natural Gas Vehicle Program for Public Transport. The original target of the program was to have 200 CNG buses plying the Batangas-Manila route by 2006 and 2,000 CNG buses by 2007. The program also aimed to have 10 CNG refilling stations supply natural gas to these buses. However, there are only 60 CNG buses in the Philippines so far and there are limited CNG refilling stations supplying them with natural gas. This station has reportedly faced several problems since it began its operations in 2008. The oil company Shell presently operates the CNG station which can supply fuel to only 30 CNG buses. Bus operators have complained about the irregular supply, as buses have to stay at the station for more than four hours to wait for the supply. Bus operators were thus forced to cut down their trips to two rountrips, instead of thee to four trips. "Not only the bus operators are affected because we have to remember that bus drivers and conductors are earning on commission basis, so the less trips they travel, the less earnings they take home to their families," Torres said. Imported CNG buses Transport operators began importing the first batch of brand new 45 CNG buses, using loans from different financial institutions, in 2005. Shell's "mother-daughter" CNG refilling stations were completed and became operational only in mid-2008. Many of the newly imported buses have slowly deteriorated during the years that they remained mostly idle. The daughter station also stopped operation in October 2009 because of typhoons. It only resumed operation in mid-July of 2010. – VVP, GMA News