Ateneo School of Government – Executive Education Program conducts Energy Transition Workshop for legislative staff

The Ateneo School of Government, through its Executive Education Program, recently conducted a closed-door Energy Transition Workshop entitled “All Hands on Deck: Key Factors in Philippine Energy Transition” last 11 March 2022 from 9:00 am to 12:00 nn. The event was attended by 32 legislative staff from both houses of Congress, representing the committee on energy, climate change, natural resources, and indigenous cultural communities and indigenous peoples, among others.

The workshop was initiated by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Energy, headed by Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Macapagal Arroyo, Pampanga’s Second District Representative. It aimed to brief the legislative personnel with the relevant information on the Philippines’ Transition to Renewable Energy. Atty. Monalisa C. Dimalanta served as the event’s Resource Speaker. She served as the Chair of the Philippine National Renewable Energy Board or NREB from 2019 to 2021.

Composed of three main sessions, the workshop covered an overview of the Philippine energy independence journey and the dynamics of global energy transition. It likewise included discussions on the key ingredients in designing the Philippine energy transition pathway as well as its challenges. On the last part of the workshop, participants were informed of the roles of the key sectors – the national government, local government units, and the private sector, in defining and tracking the country’s transition. It was followed by a casting activity wherein the legislative staff were grouped and tasked to analyze the roles of and the corresponding expectations from a certain organization/sector involved in the energy transition.

Before the end of the workshop, Atty. Dimalanta stressed the importance of the active participation of key actors in successfully realizing the Philippine Energy Transition. These stakeholders are the Department of Energy, the Energy Regulatory Commission, the Finance Institutions or the Private Sector, the Legislative Branch, and the National Power Corporation, to name some. She highlighted that all hands must be on deck as the goal to have a more sustainable energy resource can only be achieved if each of the institution plays their unique part, not for mere compliance to the law, but for a higher purpose of providing adequate resource for the next generations – something that is mandated by provisions of the Constitution as well.

This event is the first of a series of workshops about the Philippine Energy Transition. The next installment is tentatively scheduled on the second week of April 2022, with a focus on Rural Electrification.