A bill that would require the blending of ethanol into the mix of commercial gasoline was approved by the House of Representatives on third reading Monday night.

Committee Report no. 1002 submitted by the House energy committee last August was voted on by 163 House members, who all approved the measure. Natural resources committee chairman Rep. Miguel F. Zubiri, a co-author of House Bill 4629, said that the House approval "brings the nation closer to the mass production of renewable energy that will create jobs, clean the environment and boost the economy."

Under the bill, all commercial motor fuels would be required to have a 5% blend of bioethanol within two years of the effectivity of the act. After another two years, the requires blend would go up to 10%.

Mr. Zubiri said in the bill's explanatory note that the measure, when enforced, could result in P32 billion in annual foreign exchange savings. Such an estimate was based on last year's 115.6 million barrels of imported oil, a price of $50 dollars per oil barrel, and a P55-to-$1 exchange rate.

Rather than use of imported oil, the supply of bioethanol would come from various crops grown in the countryside, including sugarcane, coconuts, corn, kamote and cassava. "We have the means to ride on the alternative fuels boom. We have 2.4 million hectares planted to corn 3.2 million has. to coconut, 390,000 has. to sugarcane, 330,000 to cassava and kamote," Mr. Zubiri said.

He added that with more lands used for planting bioethanol sources, 300,000 new farm jobs would be created.

In the Senate, a bioethanol bill is still pending in the energy committee.

Meanwhile, Sen. Richard Gordon urged the government to use a petroleum oil tank farm in Subic Bay Freeport for the storage of bioethanol-mixed fuel. The 68 tanks, he said, could hold a total of 2.4 million barrels of oil.

NO MORE OIL PRICE HIKES?
Meanwhile, the Consumer and Oil Price Watch (COPW) does not see anymore fuel price increases up to the end of the year due to the downward trend of crude oil prices abroad.

COPW Chairman Raul T. Concepcion told reporters yesterday that "there's a 90% chance that prices will not go up."

Prices abroad are softening after major oil consumers, such as the United States, indicated they have enough reserves to meet any supply problems. Consumers are also expecting a "mild winter."

Historically, process of heating oil or diesel, move up during the winter months.

He also noted that consumers ate slowly relying on renewable energy, such as ethanol, instead of using more expensive petroleum products.

The Department of energy monitoring showed the November 1 to 7 average of Dubai crude dropped to $53.65 a barrel from the October average of $53.96. In September, it stood at $56.54.

Regional pricing for unleaded gasoline, meanwhile, averaged $63.81 from Nov. 1-7, from $69.10 in October and $79.40 in September.

Diesel also dropped to $66.34 from $76.08 in October and $79.67 in September.