MANILA -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday expressed his delight over the investment made by Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd. to boost the energy requirement of the Philippines

In his meeting with Tokyo Gas officials, led by its president and CEO Takashi Uchida, President Marcos said the Philippines has been looking at going into a mix of renewable energy and traditional sources of energy to meet the growing demand of industries as well of the households in the country. 

"And so we are encouraged that in view of Tokyo Gas that it is worth the investment then we feel that we are going down the right path for our country's energy mix and 
we are grateful for that vote of confidence that you have shown by your investment in the future of the Philippine economy, the future especially of our energy supply from liquefied natural gas (LNG),"  the chief executive told the executives of the natural gas provider.

President Marcos also noted that LNG has been playing a large role in the country's energy mix since 2017.

"And this was even before it was decided that LNG would create this large role in our energy mix because we are very much talking about the mix between renewables and traditional at the time. But now we are here now and certainly that is the most critical part of our plans for the future," the Filipino leader added.

President Marcos noted that the country would have to wait to reap the benefits of renewable energy because putting up the infrastructure for such projects would take time. 

"We are generally speaking [of] 6, 7 years so even if we begin tomorrow, we still have to work 6, 7 years and the question is what do we do in the meantime? We are examining the possibility... of course take more traditional wind and solar power, geothermal, all of these. But it will take time to come into play because the infrastructure has to be put in place," the President said. 

"That's why we are doing all we can to find ways to further-- to encourage extraction of LNG," he added. 

President Marcos, along with other Philippine government officials and business leaders, is currently in Japan for a five-day working visit. (PND)