Virtual meetings can save energy, says GMA

By Max V. De Leon, Manila Times Reporter  PRESIDENT Arroyo suggested on Thursday that government officials hold virtual conferences instead of face-to-face meetings to save on energy. Holding meetings through the Internet or teleconferencing is one of creative ways Mrs. Arroyo proposed to enable the government to reduce energy consumption by 10 percent. “Face-to-face meetings means the officials will have to ride cars,” the President said when informed by Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Waldo Flores that Malacañang’s energy audit team will have to meet with the energy conservation officers of government agencies. She suggested that to be more efficient, the government should make full use of the new trends in information technology. Besides, the President said, she was already receiving ranking officials in Malacañang so there is no need to hold other meetings. Energy Undersecretary Peter Abaya, who heads the energy conservation audit team with Flores, announced that the monitoring of the electric and fuel consumption of government offices will start next week. Abaya said the 15-man team will be subdivided into three groups—one each for electricity, fuel and documentation. Monitoring the compliance with energy conservation measures will be done in just 45 minutes, he said. Agencies will get grades of A for five-star rating and score of 90 to 100, B for three-star rating and score of 80 to 89, C for one-star rating and score of 70 to 79 and F for failed and score of 69 and below. Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said there is no need to reward the most energy-efficient offices, since getting their marks published is recognition in itself. The government hopes to save at least P80 million a month from its energy conservation program. Bunye said the program also consists in selling old government cars that are gas-guzzlers. The audit team is drawing up the rules for auctioning the vehicles. Flores said the Office of the President saved 18,782 liters of fuel from January to June compared with the same period last year, an 11.85-percent drop. President Arroyo hopes the government’s efforts would be supported by the business sector and civil society

 

 

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