Thank you very much Secretary Reyes and congratulations for the SWITCH convenor Ito Carlos and the other convenor, our very distinguished mayors of Metro Manila, other officials present, representatives of different sectors with a stake in energy efficiency, ladies and gentlemen.

Inilulunsad natin ngayon ang isa pang programa mula sa malawakang katas ng VAT na pinopondohan ng buwis sa langis galing sa may kaya. Ngayon, nakatuon ang ating pansin sa wasto at matipid na paggamit ng kuryente. Congratulations kay Secretary Reyes at inorganisa ng D.O.E. itong programang SWITCH upang bigyang kaalaman at pakilusin ang taumbayan para sa mga proyekto kasama na iyong palit ilaw na inilunsad natin ngayon. Sinisimulan ngayon ang SWITCH dito sa kamaynilaan. Sa mga susunod na araw ilulunsad ito sa iba’t ibang rehiyon ng ating bansa. Makararating sa lahat ng Pilipino ang kahalagahan ng wasto at matipid na paggamit ng kuryente.Sa buong mundo nagtaas ang presyo ng langis dala ng mga puwersa sa pandaigdigang ekonomiya at merkado.

The global crisis did not catch us unprepared or without reserves. Thank God and thank the Value Added Tax. We took hard decisions, hard on people, unpopular with business, but good for the country as events have shown beyond doubt. We raised new revenues from bold fiscal reforms, more money for more and better roads, bridges, ports and other infrastructure to create more opportunities for new wealth and new jobs all towards a self-sufficient, self-reliant, economically strong Republic.

With more money, we spent a lot on health , and education; we spent a lot on train and retrain a growing workforce and not just for specific task but for whatever challenges a wayward world economy may throw in. And because we prepared for it, we have been able to shield our nation on the worst effects of food and fuel crises worldwide. So, we remain committed to the path we have taken, the best solution is the one that has worked.

With zero tariff on oil starting last month, we have curbed pump price increases to some degree. But refilling other taxes on oil and power will strip the vast majority of our people of the means to ride out the world food and energy crisis. In our discourse on the most effective solutions to our people’s travails, we will not agree on everything. It’s easy to understand why many would want to see taxes on oil and electricity removed but we have to carefully address some hard questions. If VAT on oil and power is lifted, how do we replace more than P70 million in revenues, mostly used to fund projects for the poor? VAT boosted investor confidence in recent years. From P56.50 to $1 the peso strengthened to P40.23 before the oil and rice imports brought it back to P45.55. Imagine, if without VAT our starting point was P55.00. Wouldn’t the removal of VAT erode confidence, lift exchange rates, lift interest rates and therefore raise cost anyway and slow down the economy?

Will scrapping VAT not be pro--rich who consume 84 percent of energy products . Isn’t it better to use the VAT collected mainly from the well-to-do for direct assistance to sectors hard-hit by rising global prices of food and fuel? Like for instance, this movement as Ito says, he’s been in the energy conservation movement for 13 years. And I remember the movement to switch to fluorescent has been there since 2005. It was supposed to be done last Christmas. It was supposed to be launched last January. Why did it take so long ? Because we needed funds to be able to make the many who cannot otherwise afford the initial purchase, make them be able to afford it now. And that is the reason why as we launch this program, this is part of the fruits of the VAT collections on the additional price of oil in the first three months of this year of P4 billion. We allocated P1 billion of that to help 4 million poorest of the poor families pay their electric bills. We allocated half a billion to be able to help the transport sector shift to cheaper fuel like LPG, CNG and Biofuels. And we allocated another half a billion to be able to provide scholarships and student loans for college students whose families have to pay higher electric bills. And now for this Palit Ilaw we are allocating P500 million to fund the procurement of fluorescent bulbs.

We have come too far, made many sacrifices on the hard but wiser road taken to turn around now and give up enduring strengths for popular but counter productive short term gains. Yes, let us discourse, debate and without delay decide, but wherever our discourse leads let me assure our people of one thing, your government shall continue to harness all the resources at our command to help ordinary Filipinos pressured by cost and calamity like, helping them switch to fluorescent while still pursuing investments needed in our people, our infrastructures and our institutions.

National Fuel Conservation is now entrenched as a first principle of state craft. All government agencies have to reduce their energy bills by 10 percent. At gaya ng sabi ko, para sa proyektong Palit Ilaw, kalahating bilyong piso mula sa dagdag na kinita ng VAT ang inilaan sa tulong ninyong lahat upang himukin ang lahat ng Pilipino na palitan ang ginagamit an incandescent bulbs ng fluorescent lights. Sinisimulan natin sa pagpalit ng mga bombilya sa mga kalsada, opisina ng pamahalaan, ospital at iba pang pampublikong lugar. At ako ay nasisiyahan na narito ngayon ang mga mayor ng Metro Manila, pati na rin si Congressman Binay ng Makati na nagpakita ng suporta sa programang SWITCH .

Sa mga narito at sa iba pang mga kababayan sa buong bansa kasama ang libo libong pinuno ng lokal na pamahalaan na sumusuporta sa programang SWITCH at Palit Ilaw, sa inyong lahat maraming salamat. Let us switch fluorescent. Let us be for energy fluorescent.

Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat.