President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Wednesday met Energy officials to tackle "immediate and medium-term" interventions to improve the country's energy industry and achieve energy security.

Marcos met the DoE officials at the Malacañang Palace hours before he departed Manila to participate in the 40th and 41st Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summits and Related Summits in Cambodia.

The president greenlighted the DoE plan to explore and develop the country's offshore wind potential as a source of clean and sustainable energy, according to Malacañang.

Office of the Press Secretary officer-in-charge and undersecretary Cheloy Garafil said the President instructed DoE Secretary Raphael Lotilla and other energy officials to move forward with the agency's offshore wind energy production initiatives.
DoE officials proposed the creation of an Offshore Wind Development and Investment Council, which is composed of relevant government agencies that will serve as a one-stop shop for OSW developers.
Garafil noted that while the President is in favor of the proposal, he asserted that the DoE should handle the regulatory functions to streamline coordination and simplify the approval process.
"It should be the Department of Energy who should be talking with the OSW developers, in consultation with the council, of course. It has to be led by the DoE," Marcos said, as he was quoted in the press statement from OPS.
In another social media post, the Office of the Press Secretary said Marcos instructed the DoE to ensure that the country would have a sufficient energy supply.
The OPS added that energy security is among the concerns that the President would raise in the upcoming ASEAN Summit.
"The energy sector is given priority by the administration of PBBM, and it is expected to be discussed by the President in the upcoming Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Cambodia," the OPS said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs earlier disclosed that Marcos will also tackle the negative global impact of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine on the global economy, stagflation, energy shortage, food shortage, and other ramifications in the summit.
The DoE, meanwhile, is "actively updating" the Philippine Energy Development Plan, as part of the government's effort to explore alternative energy sources, according to OP.
Marcos is aiming to make the country depend on renewable energy to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change.
In his maiden State of the Nation Address, Marcos said the use of renewable energy will top his administration's climate change agenda, believing that it would help impede the effects of climate change.

Global partner

Marcos is expected to promote the Philippines as a global partner to the member states in the Phnom Pen conclave.

"We will promote the Philippines, not only as an investment center, not only as a tourism center, but as a partner, a global partner for our ASEAN member nations and for all our friends around the world who will be joining the ASEAN Conference," Marcos said during his pre-departure message at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City on Wednesday.

As the President will be in Cambodia from 10 to 13 November, Malacañang said Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Z. Duterte will be the country's caretaker.

The President said he will utilize the platform to "forge new partnerships and to strengthen those that have already existed for a very long time."

Marcos looks forward to promoting Philippine interests in ASEAN as the country moves forward to the new global economy.

"We will emphasize regional cooperation on maritime security, climate change, food security, health cooperation, and economic recovery amongst others," Marcos said.

"We will also address regional issues such as the pandemic and the situation in Myanmar, developments in the South China Sea, and the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, among other important matters," he added.

Moreover, the President disclosed that he will have bilateral meetings with some of his counterparts in ASEAN and its dialogue partners and discuss "existing and new areas of cooperation and exchange views on regional and international issues."

"I will seek further cooperation in key priorities of my Administration as well as how to explore what we can do to come together to address the most pressing issues of the region," he said.

The DoE reported to the President there are currently 42 approved offshore wind contracts with an indicated capacity of 31,000 megawatts.

Malacañang said DoE told the President about the strong interest from the private sector, especially from countries considered leaders in offshore wind technology such as Denmark, Norway and the United Kingdom.

Citing the World Bank's OSW Roadmap, OPS said the Philippines has the capacity to deploy 40 Gigawatts of OSW electricity by 2050.