The government is allocating as much as P20 billion to secure a buffer of up to two million barrels of oil through the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC), intended for contingencies and not for immediate consumption.

“The maximum target of the PNOC is two million barrels, the minimum would be one million,” Garin told reporters in a media briefing on Tuesday.

Garin said 400,000 barrels have already been contracted, with transactions for another 600,000 barrels expected this week.

The first batch will come from Southeast Asia, and the remaining batches will come from outside the region to diversify the supply and reduce the vulnerability to disruptions.

Garin also noted ongoing discussions with Japan, a long-time fuel supplier to the Philippines.

“Japan is very accommodating. We are grateful for the good relationship between Japan and the Philippines. They understand our situation, but we also understand theirs,” she said.

While the P20 billion outlay is seen as costly, Garin said the government expects to recoup some of it by selling the buffer to oil companies.

“It’s very expensive, but what will eventually happen is we sell the buffer so we can use the money to buy more. We are not in the business of retail gas, we are just doing this for buffering,” she explained.

Current national inventories average 45 days.

By product, the figures show an ample supply: gasoline at 53.14 days, diesel at 45.82 days, kerosene at 97.93 days, jet fuel at 38.62 days, fuel oil at 61.49 days, and LPG at 23.51 days.