Sen. Edgardo Angara made the call after Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said government is looking into algae as a possible biofuel substitute for jatropha. „A lot of research still needs to be conducted before algal biofuels can be as cheap as fossil fuels. But algae are already utilized for nutraceuticals and animal feeds for their proteins and omega-3 fatty acids. “We may not have to put up subsidies for algal R&D in biofuels, because a processed algae industry in the country may already be lucrative in itself,” said Angara, who chairs the Senate committee on Science and Technology (COMSTE).