Sponsorship Speech
Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada
Commission on Appointments – Committee on Energy
1 October 2025
Mr. Chairman, distinguished colleagues, ladies and gentlemen:
It is my distinct honor, as Chairman of the Committee on Energy, to sponsor before this Commission the ad interim appointment of Honorable Sharon Serag Garin as Secretary of the Department of Energy.
Secretary Garin brings with her an impressive blend of academic preparation, professional training, and legislative experience. She is a Certified Public Accountant, a lawyer, and an MBA graduate from one of Europe’s top business schools. She is armed with both the discipline of law and the rigor of finance—qualities that are indispensable in running an agency as technical and crucial as the DOE.
For twelve years in the House of Representatives, she served with distinction as Party-list Representative under AAMBIS-Owa. She rose to become Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chairperson of the Committee on Economic Affairs. In Congress, she played a pivotal role in landmark reforms: the Public Service Act, CREATE, TRAIN, Retail Trade Liberalization, and the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, among others. More importantly for our hearing today, she authored and pushed measures on energy—ranging from amendments to the EPIRA, Biofuels, and Oil Deregulation laws to the creation of a national framework for nuclear energy safety.
Her service in the Department of Energy has been equally consequential. As Undersecretary, she chaired the Nuclear Energy Program Interagency Committee, strengthened renewable energy policies, and streamlined service contracts. As Acting Secretary, she showed decisiveness when she ordered action against erring power providers, putting consumers first. Today, as Secretary, her vision is clear: energy security, sustainability, and affordability. She seeks to accelerate renewable energy, pursue responsible nuclear power, expand electrification, and build resiliency in our power systems.
Colleagues, the energy challenges facing our people are enormous—rising electricity rates, the urgent need for clean and sustainable sources, and the demand for universal access to power. We need a steady hand, a sharp mind, and a strong will at the helm of the DOE. Secretary Sharon Garin has proven that she is more than equal to the task.
Her record is clean. Her competence is evident. Her commitment to public service is beyond doubt.
Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, I therefore respectfully move for the confirmation of the ad interim appointment of Honorable Sharon Serag Garin as Secretary of the Department of Energy.
Thank you.