TAGUIG CITY – Following the recent announcement of an Advisory Panel composed of distinguished Senior Legal Advisors from the private sector who will advise the DOE on energy law reform and various energy-related legal matters, Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla today announced the designation, this time, of special technical and financial review committees and consultants who will assist the DOE in reviewing the proposed sale of Shell’s interest as operator of Service Contract 38 or the Malampaya natural gas to power project.
 
These special technical, financial, and legal advisers to the Secretary of Energy are the following:  The Technical Review Committee will be chaired by Mr. Rufino B. Bomasang. Its members include Mr. Francisco G. Delfin, Jr. and Mr. Froilan A. Tampinco, while Mr. Edgar Benedict C. Cutiongco will serve as a consultant.
 
The Financial Review Committee will be chaired by Mr. Roberto G. Manabat. Its members include Mr. J. Carlitos G. Cruz and Mr. Gabriel R. Singson, Jr. Atty. Ephyro Luis B. Amatong will serve as a consultant. 
 
Meanwhile, for the legal aspect, Atty. Luis Ma. G. Uranza will serve as a consultant.
 
"In availing of the expertise of these individuals, we want to assure the public that the DOE will exercise the utmost care and diligence, in carrying out its mandate involving the country's upstream oil and gas sector in general, including the country's biggest gas-to-power initiative to date—the Malampaya-Camago project," Secretary Lotilla stressed.

“These advisers are highly regarded in their fields of expertise. Above all, they have the highest moral standards that are essential in guiding and protecting the interest of the government and of the Filipino people", Secretary Lotilla added.
 
Mr. Bomasang was the former President and CEO of the PNOC-Exploration Corporation (PNOC-EC). He joined the government in 1976 and served under 5 successive Presidents of the Republic. Mr. Delfin, Jr. meanwhile served as DOE Undersecretary and Mr. Tampinco as Napocor President and PSALM Vice-President, respectively. 
 
Mr. Cutiongco, on the other hand, has more than three decades of experience in oil and gas exploration and production operations, garnered both at the PNOC-EC and PEARL Oil, Mubadala Petroleum, and InterOil Corporation in Singapore. He is the current President of the Philippine Petroleum Association of the Upstream Industry and a Senior Lecturer at the University of the Philippines National Institute of Geological Sciences.
 
Meanwhile, Mr. Manabat is the founding and former Chairman and CEO of KPMG R.G. Manabat & Co., a member firm of KPMG International. He was also the former senior partner of SGV & Co. and served as an independent director of several private companies. 
 
Mr. Cruz was the former chairman and managing partner of SGV & Co and is currently a Trustee of the Makati Business Club.
 
Mr. Singson, on the other hand, was a former undersecretary of the Department of Finance (DOF). 
 
Atty. Amatong, meanwhile, served as a Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and likewise served the DOF as assistant secretary. 
 
Atty. Uranza, who will serve as a legal consultant, is an expert in corporate law and financial rehabilitation, criminal, civil, and commercial law. He served as a director of PNOC-EC.
 
"This pool of advisers is expected to assist the DOE in ensuring that its decisions on matters relating to the Malampaya Service Contract consider all the relevant factors and are founded on sound technical analyses," Secretary Lotilla stressed.

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