PNOC EC’s Aquino steps down as chief
Credit to Author: JORDEENE B. LAGARE| Date: Tue, 15 Oct 2019 16:28:11 +0000
PEDRO Aquino Jr. has resigned as president and chief executive officer (CEO), as well as member of the board of Philippine National Oil Co. subsidiary PNOC Exploration Corp. (PNOC EC) after President Rodrigo Duterte asked him to do so.
In a text message on Tuesday, Aquino said the President asked him “to submit my resignation, which I did effective October 14.”
Malacañang confirmed Aquino’s message, with Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo saying in a statement that “loss of confidence” was the reason.
The President asking Aquino’s resignation, Panelo said, “is still in line [with] and pursuant to his anti-corruption campaign in the government, and underscores once again that there are no sacred cows under this administration.”
“We reiterate the directive of the President to all officials and employees of the government to undertake actions which are only pursuant to what the law provides in the performance of their official functions and desist from committing any act that are — or may appear to be — irregular, illegal or dishonest,” he added.
The resignation comes after Aquino was suspended for 30 days for reportedly signing an agreement with a Russian company to develop corporation on oil products and jointly participate in oil-refining activities without securing the permission of the PNOC EC’s board or of Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi.
A source who spoke on condition of anonymity said the board suspended him not only because he acted without the former’s authority, but also because he signed the deal as PNOC chief.
Cusi — who heads that board— declined to comment on the matter on the sidelines of the inauguration of a 500-megawatt coal-fired plant in Mauban town, Quezon province, but Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella said his department would issue an official statement on Wednesday.
According to the PNOC EC website, Aquino began his term as the subsidiary’s chief during the presidency of Benigno Aquino 3rd.
He also served as PNOC’s president and CEO during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and was board chairman of what was then PNOC Energy Development Corp. (now EDC) in 2007.
‘More focused’
Also on Tuesday, a lawmaker said the situation could have been prevented if the country has a “more focused” PNOC.
“Unfortunately, the PNOC is spreading itself too thin by doing different things when its focus should be on oil and gas exploration,” said Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy.
“The PNOC EC is supposed to be tasked with exploration, but this recent deal shows its intent to go into petroleum trading,” he added.
The energy panel, the legislator said, plans to remedy the situation by championing a bill aimed at restructuring the PNOC to refocus on upstream oil and gas so that it would contribute to securing the country’s energy needs.
This involves abolishing existing subsidiaries and shifting its focus away from non-exploration activities, he added. WITH A REPORT FROM CATHERINE S. VALENTE