A POSITION PAPER TO THE ARTICLE ENTITLED

Of Sea Grabs and Alien Species: The New Face of the Biofuels
Industry in the Philippines written by Judge Joy Angelica Santos Doctor

Submitted by: HENNESSY D. MUGA, JD-2

The Biofuels Act of 2006 (RA 9367) was legislated to reduce the Philippines’
dependence on imported fuels and to protect public health and the environment.
Biofuels being derived from the ecosystem, they are one of the most renewable and
biodegradable sources of energy present. It is very important to harvest this technology
due to the increasing fear of the impact that the conventional petro fuels have on the
environment. The purpose of this Act is to develop and use indigenous renewable
energy to reduce dependence on imported oil, reduce toxic emissions, and also ensure
the availability of alternative and renewable clean energy without causing any harm to
the natural ecosystem, biodiversity and food reserves of the country. In this position
paper and in relation to the article written by Judge Joy Angelica Santos Doctor, matters
to be talked about include the environmental impacts of biofuels in the provinces of
Bohol and other Southern Philippine region, citing on the main purpose of its production,
and advantages and disadvantages of the process of producing biofuels.

The use of biofuels for transport is a major thrust of the Philippines to reduce the
country’s dependence on imported fossil fuels and to mitigate greenhouse gas
emissions. To pursue this objective, the Congress enacted Republic Act No. 9367
otherwise known as the Biofuels Act of 2006. In accordance to the mandate of the said
law, the government is presently implementing the National Biofuels Program (NBP) to
promote investments in biofuel productions and encourage the utilization of this product.
Other activities that coincide with this program are the establishment of support
mechanisms to ensure adequate supply of feed stocks and the adoption of appropriate
technology for vehicles and other engines to be able to use alternative fuels. Climate
science shows that fighting climate change will necessarily involve bioenergy.

In relation to the article written by Judge Doctor, what has been emphasized was
the production of biofuel through the process of extracting ethanol from seaweed. This
process, according to government officials, was endorsed to be that of more cost-
efficient and advantageous than the other sources of biofuel. And with this
endorsement, various Memorandum of Agreements were signed between Philippine
provinces and private companies to expedite the ethanol based biofuel produce. The
Philippine government had also laid out multi-million budget for the implementation of
this algae culture project. Not to mention the province of Bohol, represented by the
former Governor Erico Aumentado who had signed into a Memorandum of Agreement
with Mr. Gyungsoo Kim of Biolsystems Co. Ltd.

By looking into the industry potential, this huge project would create hundreds of
jobs to the Boholanos as initially discussed. Plans that there will be employment
generation and livelihood improvements in the rural areas. Including generation of
foreign exchange savings brought by the decrease in fuel importation. There might be
growth in the economic perspective and shall provide wide contribution to the industry
improvement. The said agreement had already developed a marine farm in the town of
Talibon and is said to put up a US$150-million facility for bio-ethanol extraction,
biomass power generation and organic fertilizer production. Also for establishment is a
US$2.9 million algae bio-ethanol research center funded as a grant by the Korea
International Cooperation Agency (Koica).

It was being emphasized that the main product of this process is seaweed. This
macroalgae is a large, diverse group of aquatic plants. Some common species, like
sugar kelp, could become a promising source of biofuels, if sustainably produced and
used. Compared with, for example soya, which is also used for the production of
biofuels, growing seaweed is faster, more space-efficient and does not require the use
of fresh water or the addition of fertilizer. Furthermore, seaweed does not compete for
land area. On the contrary, seaweed can be grown in exactly the area we have the most
of: the sea.

Seaweed is an essential part of ocean ecosystems so the use of both wild and
cultivated seaweed should therefore be controlled. These four (4) main aspects are to
be tackled. Its availability, suitability, efficiency and productivity.

One such lesson concerns availability. Though seaweed is plentiful, it is an

under-used source of biomass. The sea covers almost three-quarters of the world and
half of the world’s biomass grows here. However, we only get 2% of our energy from
food that comes directly from the sea. Of course not all sea area is available or even
suitable, but seaweed growing is very scalable. Seaweed can be grown on straight or
circular ropes, horizontally and/or vertically, ideally down to 10m depth to retain optimal
sunlight conditions. There are also integrated solutions to growing seaweed that make
best possible use of the available space.

Talking about suitability. Between 85 and 90% of seaweed is water, which means
seaweed is very suitable for biofuel-making methods like anaerobic digestion to make
biogas and fermentation to make ethanol. In addition, many seaweed species, like
sugar kelp, have high carbohydrate and low lignin content that is perfect for making
bioethanol.

Seaweed is one of the most efficient species, especially in absorbing nutrients

like phosphorous and nitrogen. Because seaweed grows very fast, it can absorb a lot of
CO2, in fact up to 66 tonnes of CO2 per hectare, which can help tackle ocean
acidification. Fast growth also means CO2 emissions from for instance seaweed biofuel
are quickly reabsorbed by new growth. In addition, seaweed doesn’t need fresh water or
fertilizing.

In Bohol, it is undeniable that mass seaweed growth is prevalent. That is why

private foreign companies laid out plans for this biofuel production. However, there were
opposing views towards the administrating government due to major drawbacks. Major
fear of tsunami that might hit the entire area. Fears also of oilgae contaminating and
destroying the Danajon Bank, the only double barrier reef in the Philippines, considered
as a very rare geologic formation. In addition to the destruction of Danajon Bank is the
degradation of marine resources found in the said protected area and its displaced
fisherfolk. The presence of this major project in the area had also brought to another
issues like fishermen tend to catch low volume of fish. Ranging to its worst part is the
destruction of the area’s water ecosystem, citing on the poor diversity and density of
macro-invertebrate fauna like sea urchins, sea cucumber, and molluscs. Noticeably
speaking, the project had introduced alien species into the destruction of those of
marine life which were considered to be one-of-a kind.

Going back to the signed law of Biofuel or Republic Act 9367, there were many
versions of biofuel technology which were broken down into generations. And that this
genetic engineering processes would still cause drawbacks.

Biofuels Act of 2006 imposed these policies and intentions in accordance to its
written provisions. After deliberating, many have contradicted on these said provisions
because of false outcome in the actual scene. Like what is being emphasized in the
abovementioned drawbacks, the project under the Korean and Chinese private
companies put more risks than advantages. In Bohol, active representation from the
concerned public enable the suspension of the oilgae project. It is for the main reason
that there were violations to the given provisions. It was also identified that there was
wide discrimination to the locals by those foreign individuals managing the project. The
livelihood of fishermen had likewise weakened due to the drastic impact on its
ecological situation. Not to mention, the effects of destruction to the eco-tourism
industry which the province of Bohol is popular of.

Challenges with using seaweed for biofuel include reducing local environmental
impact. Because growing seaweed could reduce the amount of nutrients in an area, this
could affect other sea life higher up the food chain. Several potential impacts which
need further study, such as the effects of more human activity, risks of cross-breeding
wild and cultivated species, diseases, calamity and the creation of a non-natural
temporary habitat-as a seaweed farm would be.

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