THE use of the mandated 1-percent coco-biodiesel blend (B1) has significantly cut down carbon emissions in Metro Manila, according to data from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

“There has been a drastic 24.2-percent reduction in amount of total suspended particulates [TSP] and particulate matter [PM] in the air in the third quarter of the year,” said Raffy Diaz Jr., managing director of the Asian Institute of Petroleum Studies Inc. (AIPSI).

The AIPSI official said the institute has sought to establish a factual but informal assessment of the environmental impact of the biodiesel mandate using the monthly ambient air-quality monitoring data of the DENR-Environment Management Bureau (EMB) derived from its 13 monitoring stations in the National Capital Region.

Diaz said the air-quality data measures TSP and PM10 (particulate matter with size of 10 micron) level in ambient air, and that the DENR-EMB takes the lowest and highest reading in a given month to get an average reading.

AIPSI used as baseline the air-quality data in the first quarter when there was no 1-percent biodiesel mandated.

When the Biofuels Act of 2006 took effect on May 6, AIPSI already recorded a TSP of 17.4 percent for the second quarter.

Diaz said that since hot air goes up and cool air comes down, air pollutants are closer to nose level during cool wet season (third quarter), adding that data should continue to improve toward the drier months.

He said this data supports positive anecdotal proof on the effect of the biodiesel mandate as Metro Manila residents can now see the coastline of Manila Bay in the morning without a haze, while those in Antipolo can now see the city without a blanket of smog.

“The ambient air quality of the DENR, although informally obtained, is factual enough that could be a good indication that the biofuels mandate had, indeed, done well in cleaning the air we breathe,” Diaz said.

PRIVATE mining companies in the Philippines have urged French and British investors to explore the mining industry in the country as they presented information on the business opportunities at the recent high-level delegation in Paris, saying the Philippine economy has grown stable since the Asian crisis in 1997.

AFTER announcing that it plans to prepay debts of the state-run power company, the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm) said Tuesday that it is ready to chop off a huge part of the government’s debt by prepaying up to $1 billion of the National Power Corp.’s (Napocor) loan obligations.

AN antidebt watchdog urged members of Joint Congressional Power Committee (JCPC) on Tuesday to stop the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm) from bidding the 25-year concession contract to operate the National Transmission Corp. (Transco), saying that the government could lose a minimum of around P246 billion in potential earnings.

THE use of the mandated 1-percent coco-biodiesel blend (B1) has significantly cut down carbon emissions in Metro Manila, according to data from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

LAWMAKERS asserted Tuesday that the secretary of finance cannot assign to a subordinate his review powers under the Tax Code, especially if this authority was exclusively delegated to him by Congress.

THE transportation department signed a consultancy contract last week with the Aviation Systems Consultants Co. Ltd. (Asco) for the improvement of the country’s aviation industry.

A FISHERY nongovernment organization is asking the government to stop the ongoing oil and gas exploratory drilling in Tañon Strait off Cebu if the company conducting the exploration and the Department of Energy (DOE) would not offer compensations to 1,500 fishermen affected by the fishing ban.