Stronger biofuels push needed, says DOE

In response to soaring oil prices, the Philippine Department of Energy (DoE) is considering creating a Bureau of Renewable Energy to increase the use of alternative fuel for power generation and transport, Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes said. The executive director of the National Biofuels Board, Energy Undersecretary Ramon Santos, recently came under fire from Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, author of the Biofuels Act of 2006. Zubiri said the head of the National Biofuels Board (NBB) should be a strong leader and an expert in various feedstock and processing technologies, especially at a time that opposition to biofuels is mounting. Zubiri said. (May 10, 2008)