Articles, essays, and talks of Rey Lugtu

(Published in Manila Standard Today under the Greenlight Column, April 18, 2011) A local bank recently invited me to deliver a talk to its senior executives about managing change and transitions. This is opportune time for the bank as it is undergoing changes and its attendant transition in areas of strategy and organizational structure changes. My talk centered on how to manage transitions in particular as opposed to managing change. There is a distinct difference. Change is situational, an event. It happens when something starts or stops. Transition is psychological. It’s a psychological process that a person goes through to detach from his/her old identity and become directed to a new one. Transition takes longer than changes, and this is where the complication comes in – the roller coaster ride of emotions involved among those affected by the change. These are the wisdom behind the seminal book of William Bridges, “Managing Transitions”. It was an interesting talk because I r...

(Published in Business Mirror under Mirror Image column, April 13, 2011) Another round of oil-price increase! The Department of Energy (DOE) confirmed this on Sunday due to the continuing rise in global crude prices from $4 to $5 per barrel. If this pushes through, this would be the 12th time oil companies increase their price since the year started, as the unrest in the oil-producing countries of the Middle East continues to escalate. This is the perennial dilemma of our country as an importer of fuels and oil for our energy needs. It means that when the price of oil increases, Filipinos have to bear the brunt of the upward spiral of fuel and power costs. It is opportune time for the government and the private sector to focus on the development of renewable energy (RE). Using RE means that we use energy sources that are not clean and reliable, but sustainable, such that it addresses our country’s problem on energy security. Since the signing of the Renewable Energy Act of 2008,...

(Published in Business World, under the View from Taft column, April 7, 2011) The Fukushima nuclear disaster and the rising oil prices have highlighted the huge and promising potential of renewable energy (RE) around the world and in the region. A raft of news reports on companies investing in RE fill the national dailies almost every day since the start of the year. Since the signing of the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, we have seen a deluge of investments in hydropower, wind, biomass, ocean energy, and solar power. The latter deserves special attention as we see massive deployments of it this year. According to the Philippine Solar Power Association (PSPA), solar power producers are expected to generate a combined 125 MW this year, 130 MW in 2012, and another 95 MW by 2013. One major player is Lopez-led First Philec Solar Solutions (FPSS), which plans to build a solar power plant in Cavite that is projected to deliver 2 megawatts and is scalable to 5-MW in the coming years. The...