Malampaya sale to Udenna a national security concern if China is involved – Colmenares

Billy Begas

Bayan Muna chair Neri Colmenares on Thursday urged the Department of Energy (DOE) to hold accountable all officials that illegally approved Udenna Corp.’s takeover of Chevron’s share in the Malampaya natural gas project.

Colmenares also urged DOE to make public the Malampaya agreement that details the duties, obligations and benefits of Dennis Uy’s Udenna to assure the public that no unjust preference was given to him by the Duterte administration.

“We must also scrutinize whether China has interlocking interests with Udenna which could make this a national security concern,” Colmenares said.

He also urged Senator Sherwin Gatchalian and the Senate to continue its investigation on the issue.

Colmenares said the claim of DOE that Udenna is financially qualified is questionable especially since no proof was given and no due diligence investigation was conducted.

“The DOE’s rush approval of the Udenna takeover of the Malampaya consortium opens up its officials to graft cases for approving an agreement disadvantageous to the government and the Filipino people,” Colmenares explained.

He said that the moment Udenna failed to meet its financial obligations, Energy Sec. Alfonso Cusi and his undersecretaries will find themselves facing charges for the irregular takeover.

The DOE, Colmenares added, should show the public that it did not allow Udenna the right to charge all their expenses, including travel and vacation expenses of their officials and their families, to the government as recovery cost, essentially making Filipino taxpayers pay for their expenses.

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Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)