BALER, Aurora - This province, listed as one of the country's most depressed provinces, is opening up its doors to biofuel as the wave of the future. It has ventured into biofuel production through a partnership among four government agencies, the lone district congressional office, the provincial government and the Aurora State College of Technology (ASCOT).

The partnership involves the Bureau of Post Harvest Research and Extension (BPRE), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), the provincial government of Aurora represented by Gov. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo, the congressional district of Aurora represented by House deputy minority leader Juan Edgardo Angara and ASCOT.

Dr. Romeo Cabanilla, ASCOT president, told The STAR that the seven have forged a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to engage in massive bio-fuel production for the province utilizing its coconut products.

The use of biofuel has gained worldwide popularity. It is seen as substitute for fossil fuels and as a way to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases believed to contribute to global warming. In Indonesia, the first biodiesel-run car successfully completed a 3,200-kilometer road trip using oil from jathropa plant last month.

Amid soaring oil costs, Indonesia is trying to reduce the cost of providing subsidized fuel to the population, which has risen to an estimated 62.4 trillion rupiah ($6.86 billion) this year.

Although rich in fossil fuels, Indonesia does not have an endless supply with 23 to 25 years of oil, 60 years of gas and 150 years of coal. Jakarta plans to make at least five million hectares of forest lands available for palm oil, jathropa, sugar cane and cassava plantations in a bid to create three million jobs.

In the United States, corn and soybeans are grown for use as biofuels; flaxseed and rapeseed in Europe and sugar cane in Brazil. In Japan, vehicle manufacturers are being encouraged to produce more flex-fuel vehicles during the recent ASEAN-Europe meeting (ASEM).

In the country, awareness on biofuel has soared to unprecedented heights with proponents believing it is the wave of the future, particularly after the Senate approved the Biofuels Act early this month, paving the way for the enactment soon of the use of alternative fuel in the transport system. The passage of Senate Bill 2226, a Malacañang-certified urgent measure aims to reduce the country's dependence on imported fuel, reduce pollution caused by fossil fuels and spur the growth of the agriculture sector.

One of the authors of the measure is Sen. Edgardo Angara who hails from this capital town.

The government has been gearing up toward commercial development of alternative fuels such as ethanol as a blend to gasoline products and coco methyl ester for diesel as its policy in shoring up the country's energy independence.

The Senate version mandates the use of a minimum five percent bioethanol blended gasoline and one percent biodiesel blend on fuel products sold to the country's 5.2 million vehicles. The House version, House Bill 4629, passed in November last year, was sponsored by Bukidnon Rep. Miguel Zubiri.

Last August, the Department of Energy (DOE) called on energy ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations during its 24TH ASEAN Ministers Energy Meeting in Vientiane, Laos to consider establishing harmonized product and quality standards for biofuels.

The Philippine Biodiesel Association (PBA) has anticipated that the demand for coconut oil will support coconut prices as the producers stock up for the immediate effectivity of the one percent biodiesel blend should it become a law.

A one-percent blend of cocodiesel has been estimated to produce an income of P4.2 billion for the entire coconut industry which has 3.5 million farmers who live in 69 of the country's 84 provinces, whose lives have been on a roller-coaster ride as palm oil and other vegetable oils produced overseas exacted its toll on them.

The DOST said biofuels are biodegradable or recyclable that makes them relatively harmless to the environment in case of an oil spill. Its production ensures that the amount of carbon dioxide released by non-renewable energy sources such as petroleum, coal and nuclear fuels into the atmosphere is reduced.

Aside from the Angaras, others involved in the venture are BPRE director Ricardo Cachuela, PCA regional manager Dennis Calub, Region 3 directors Conrado Oliveros and Renato Manantan of the DOST and DA, respectively and Cabanilla.

Under the agreement, the provincial government, the congressional district office and the BPRE would provide the funding and manpower requirements for the installation, establishment and maintenance of the coconut biofuel project. The ASCOT would utilize its existing coconut oil mill, facilities and location for the adoption of appropriate technologies for the production of coconut biofuel as well as the sourcing of the raw materials for the project.

The PCA would share its technology on the processing of coconut oil for petro diesel fed stationary and mobile engines while the DOST and the DA would provide post trainings and information dissemination to the farmers on the biofuel technology.

All project outputs, discoveries or inventions that may be produced in the venture shall be jointly owned by the parties.

Cabanilla said a coconut biofuel plant costing roughly P230,000 will soon be established at the ASCOT's Bazal Campus in nearby Ma. Aurora town. The biofuel plant will be equipped with facilities such as 16-gallons capacity pressure tank and 200-liter capacity settling tank and other accessories.

The biofuel project is a component of the Aurora Integrated Coconut Development Program (AICODEP) which is being crafted by the PCA provincial office.

Governor Angara-Castillo said that the project forms part of the six-point development agenda of the provincial government codenamed HEALTH which dwells on programs covering health, education, agriculture, livelihood, trade and human resource development.

She stressed that the project is a priority of the provincial government which provided an initial P130,000 in support funds