Palace says DOE not keen on extending JMSU deal

Malacañang said Tuesday that the Department of Energy is not keen on extending the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) in the Spratlys because China and Vietnam were not making moves to renegotiate the agreement. The three-year JMSU deal expires on June 30. “There is no move on the part of our partners to negotiate for the extension. So far, the thinking of the Department of Energy is not to extend," said Sergio Antonio Apostol, chief presidential legal counsel. The Palace legal team, which is studying whether there should be a second phase of the agreement, does not have a recommendation yet, he said. Apostol said that the Exploration Corp. of the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) has asked Malacanang make to study whether it is wise to renegotiate the contract, following the “political noise" it has generated. The JMSU could not be made public because it would violate the provision in the contract that details of the agreement should not be revealed to the public, Apostol said. He said the JMSU is a “commercial paper" and that revealing its contents would tip off “other groups who are interested in getting the area." Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, who is part of the legal team, said the decision of whether there would be a renegotiation depends on whether the joint “seismic study" has resulted in “substantial finds" of potential energy in the area. Gonzalez said it is only when there is finding of potential energy that the constitutional issue would come into play, adding that the present JMSU is very explicit that the claims of the Philippines is not being prejudiced. He chided those who are questioning the constitutionality of the agreement by saying that the whole world is thirsty for oil, but government critics want the survey to be abandoned. “E kung meron diyan bakit i-abandon mo? Umaangal tayo, we also do not want coal-fired plants etc., etc. pagkatapos merong findings of oil diyan sabihin natin unconstitutional. (if there is an oil reserve why would be abandon the survey? We complain against coal-fired plant and all that. And if there is a positive finding we say it is unconstitutional)," he said. National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said the Spratlys issue should not be colored by partisan politics. However, he said that the controversy generated by the JMSU would not lead to President Arroyo's impeachment. Gonzales said it is better to have a joint effort with other claimant countries rather than “every country trying to sneak out from the rest and doing something." He cited the issue of Taiwan putting up an airstrip in one of the islands, saying government should just let Taiwan and China settle the issue between themselves. - GMANews.TV