Palace insists: No oil crisis

Amid rounds of big-time oil price hikes that have been crippling the general public, Malacanang Palace on Monday maintained that there is no oil crisis yet as fuel supply remains ample.

“Kapag sinabi po natin na oil crisis, maliwanag din po ang sinabi ni Secretary Sharon Garin ng DOE (Department of Energy) na sa ngayon ay hindi pa kinukonsidera na mayroon tayong oil crisis dahil kumpleto po tayo at enough po ang supply ng langis. At nagpupursige po ang DOE at ang pamahalaang ito sa utos na rin po ni Pangulong Marcos Jr. na hindi mawalan ng patid ang suplay ng langis o produktong petrolyo sa ating bansa,” said Palace press officer, Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro in a media briefing in Villamor Airbase, Pasay City.

She said that Garin reported that there is an ongoing negotiation for the importation of 440,000 barrels of fuel, and there is an additional 600,000 barrels available for importation.

Based on the CEIC Data, a premier provider of high-quality macroeconomic, industrial, and financial data, specializing in developed and emerging markets, the Philippines consumes approximately 480,000 to 490,000 barrels of oil per day (2024-2025 data), ranking 35th globally—mostly diesel (42%) for transport/power, with a mix of diesel (42 percent), gasoline (23 percent), fuel oil (11 percent), and liquefied petroleum gas (11 percent).

The country also imports 98 percent of its fuel requirements.

“Ang sinasabi po natin na wala pa po at hindi pa po dinideklara na mayroon tayong oil crisis dahil nga po sapat ang suplay sa ngayon. Most probably according to Secretary Sharon ang nagkakaroon lamang po ng issue ay tungkol sa presyo dahil alam naman po natin kung ano ang nangyayari na krisis sa Middle East,” she stressed.

Marcos last week mentioned the word crisis during his conversation with tricycle drivers who received the first tranche of P5,000 cash aid.

“Ang nais pong sabihin ng Pangulo patungkol sa oil crisis pinapatungkulan niya po doon ay ang oil crisis sa Middle East. Pero sa ngayon po sa atin at sa payo na rin po ni Secretary Garin sa ating Pangulo, wala pa po tayong maaaring tawaging oil crisis sa bansa,” she said.

She said the perfect term, based on the pronouncement of Secretary Garin, is that there is a price disruption because of the oil crisis in the Middle East.

Fuel pricing

Meanwhile, Castro said that the pricing of fuel in the country is based on the prevailing market prices, as some citizens are slamming fuel companies for imposing too high prices on consumers.

 “Under the deregulated downstream oil industry framework based on Republic Act RA 8479, oil companies set prices based on the prevailing international benchmark prices, primarily Mean of Platts Singapore or MOPS, every pricing cycle. So, iyong oil companies po ay gumagamit po sila ng FIFO – First In First Out accounting. Ito po iyong ginagamit nila ngayon kung saan iyong produkto na ibinibenta sa ngayon ay base sa presyo sa current or near current international market prices at hindi sa historical acquisition cost noong patungkol sa kanilang inventory,” Castro explained.

She said pump prices reflect the current global market conditions, even the fuel they have already bought at a low price.

“So, kasi ganoon po ang umiiral sa ganitong klase na sistema kung mayroong Oil Deregulation Law. So, iyon po ang umiiral – pump price reflects current global market conditions. So, hindi po ang DOE ang makakapagdikta ng presyo ng gasolina, ng fuel dahil nga po mayroon tayong Oil Deregulation Law. Ang tangi lamang pong mari-regulate ng pamahalaan o ng DOE ay kung sila ay lumalabag sa benchmark at kung may pang-aabuso,” she said.

However, Castro acknowledged that the crisis, according to Sec. Garin, is on supply and pricing.

“So, for now, if we are talking about supply, there is no crisis. Maybe, mayroon pong price disruption dahil nga po sa nangyayaring oil crisis sa Middle East. So, iyon po iyong pananaw ni Secretary Garin,” she said.

The Palace spokesperson also maintained that the government is not downplaying the situation

“Wala naman tayong dina-downplay – ito po kasi iyong totoong sitwasyon. Nagsusumikap po ang pamahalaan sa utos ng Pangulo na dapat hindi magkulang ang suplay ng produktong petrolyo. Lahat ay ginagawa, nandiyan na rin po ang pagbibigay ng tulong ng DSWD, ang pagtatrabaho ng DOE pati po ng DA at iba pong ahensiya isama na po natin ang DSWD. So, in other words, ayaw po na maramdaman ng mga kababayan natin an may kulang tayo sa suplay. Kumpleto po ang supplies natin sa krudo, sa oil, sa fuel, pati po sa pagkain,” according to Castro.

The Palace official stressed that compared to other nations, the Marcos administration has given the affected sector due attention, such as providing financial aid.

“Kahit presyo po ay tumataas dahil nga po ito ay dulot ng sigalot sa Middle East gusto niyang iparamdam ng Pangulo na kaya ng gobyerno, nandidiyan ang gobyerno para sa taumbayan at hindi pababayaan ng Pangulo at ng gobyerno ang mga nararanasan natin,” she said.

Despite this, Castro has called on Filipinos to work together with the government.

“Hindi po kasi natin mapapasubalian, we just cannot ignore the issue that there is really a crisis in the Middle East, at nagiging parte po tayo dito. Hindi man natin gustuhin, talaga pong maaapektuhan tayo – that’s the reality,” according to Castro.

To recall, the President was given emergency powers by House of Representatives and Senate of the Philippines; however, the Palace said the President hasn’t received the copy of the proposed law, according to Castro.

“Sa atin pong pagkakaalam ay hindi pa po yata naibibigay – sa aking pagkakaalam, sorry. Ang update sa akin ay hinihintay po na maibigay sa Pangulo para mapirmahan. Sa akin pong huling pagkakaalam. Pero kapag nandiyan na po iyan pipirmahan po kaagad ng Pangulo iyan at lahat ng maaaring gawin at hindi lalabag sa batas at hindi lalabag mismo doon sa batas na isinusulong ngayon patungkol sa emergency powers gagawin po iyan ng Pangulo,” Castro revealed.

Moreover, Castro said that it was confirmed by DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian that they can add the aid that they have initially rolled out.

“Ayon ayon po kay Secretary Gatchalian sa utos na nga rin po ni Pangulong Marcos Jr., na magkakaroon pa po ng karagdagang ayuda, ‘uunahin lang po, we have to time it’, sabi po niya. At ito pa rin ang kaniyang sinabi, ‘in the coming days, DSWD will continue to release cash assistance to affected Public Utility Drivers, and this will be done in tranches,” she said.