endIndex: Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 29) — The United States has launched a $34 million (about ₱1.6 billion) project aiming to fortify the Philippine energy sector, the US Embassy in the Philippines said. Spanning five years, the US Agency for International Development’s Energy Secure Philippines project will support a “more competitive, secure, and resilient” sector, the embassy said in a statement Monday. The ESP will also “promote the country’s key energy sector priorities and support its climate mitigation goals,” it added. Washington will work with Manila and private sector partners in improving the efficiency of energy utilities, deploy renewable energy systems and promote competition in the power sector, the embassy said. The project also aims to address energy sector cybersecurity, it added.