PE2 sees EE&C law creating opportunities for MSMEs in construction industry
MAKATI CITY, 24 June 2021 – Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance (PE2) president Alexander Ablaza told construction industry stakeholders earlier today that Republic Act No. 11285, also more popularly known as the Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EE&C) Act, will create a market demand for energy efficiency (EE) businesses, such as energy service companies (ESCOs), EE technology and service providers and EE project developers evolving from the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) currently providing engineering services to the local construction industry.
PE2 president Alexander Ablaza (inset) opens his presentation during the POCB-ICFG webinar on 24 June 2021 (Screenshot Image: PE2)
Ablaza was invited by the Philippine Overseas Construction Board (POCB) in partnership with the Infrastructure and Construction Focus Group (ICFG) to present PE2’s views on the linkage of the EE&C Act implementation and the opportunities for MSMEs already providing construction and related engineering services.
According to Ablaza, “The new law assigns more emphasis on energy efficiency rather than energy conservation, largely because the former and its resultant improvement in energy productivity will not stifle economic growth.” Answering a question during the panel discussion, Ablaza explained, “We are opening a new era where government will have to change the way it procures EE technologies and services, and flows public and private sector funds to EE projects through innovative financial modalities. Through these policy reforms, EE improvements in the public sector will gradually be treated as infrastructure development and energy savings may be reinvested in this new economic activity instead of flowing back to the national treasury.”
The PE2 head also echoed the Alliance’s position that EE can actually create 45% more jobs than Build, Build, Build infrastructure development program for the same amount of stimulus funding or capital investment, and that the successful mobilization of PHP 12 trillion in EE capital by 2040 can result in the creation of 9 million EE jobs.
Ablaza concluded the PE2 presentation with three key messages: (a) EE targets will need the market to create, enable and strengthen ESCOs, EE project developers, EE technology and service providers and other MSMEs with engineering capabilities; (b) Some PHP 12 trillion in EE projects, programs, purchases and investments will pull more MSME players to provide ESCO and EE services in the next 2 decades; and, (c) A robust local EE service market can potentially position the Philippines as an exporter of EE and ESCO services to other growing EE markets.
The Day 3 session of the week-long POCB event was focused on “upgrading credentials of construction and related engineering services with a green building, sustainability, green living mindset.” Aside from the PE2 head, the panel of sustainability and green building experts also included Arch. Felino Palafox, Jr., Principal Architect-Urban Planner and Founder of Palafox Associates and Palafox Architecture Group, Inc.; Arch. Romolo Nati, Executive Chairman & CEO, Italpinas Development Corp. (IDC); and, Sylvester Wong, Vice President - Cities, AECOM. POCB Executive Director Doris Gacho and ICFG Managing Director Lorens Ziller opened the session, while Arch. Ramon Abiera, Committee Chair for Sustainability and Innovation of the United Architects of the Philippines, served as Moderator of the panel discussion.
In celebration of POCB’s 44th anniversary, the week-long virtual event, “Capitalizing on Free Trade Agreements for MSMEs,” which is scheduled to run from 21-28 June 2021, aims to maximize opportunities for MSMEs in the construction and related engineering services sector, which make up for about 97% of total licensed contractors. There is clear need to equip and upgrade the MSME competencies and credentials to enable them to participate in the global value chains, and ensure their restart and recovery post-pandemic. It is a project of POCB, one of the implementing agencies of the Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines (CIAP), an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). ICFG is a co-host of the Day 3 session on 24 June 2021.
Anchored on the Philippine Construction Industry Roadmap 2020-2030’s vision of becoming a globally competitive construction industry, the conference serves as a platform to communicate the policies and programs of DTI as the mother agency of CIAP to support investments and trade in infrastructure and construction and related engineering services sectors.
