Metro Manila, Philippines – Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said the Philippines is unlikely to face a worst-case scenario in which the country runs out of fuel due to the Middle East crisis.
Garin faced the first hearing of the Senate ad hoc committee on the Middle East crisis response on Tuesday, March 24, but only after senators called her out for her absence earlier in the day.
Senator Win Gatchalian, the panel chairman, said Garin had submitted a long list of prior commitments and sent representatives instead, but Senator Loren Legarda said it was unacceptable.
Garin showed up shortly after 1:30 pm, and assured that the government is doing all it can to secure alternative sources of fuel.
“But that’s uncertainty,” Gatchalian said, pressing for clearer contingency measures should the situation worsen.
Garin replied: “The worst case is we run dry — this country runs dry. Ang good news niyan, we have a month or a month and a half to prepare for this.”
Legarda was shocked.
“Hindi pa ba iyan krisis? Ayaw pa ba talagang yugyugin ang mga utak ng tao sa gobyerno para tanggapin na tayo ay nasa krisis [Isn’t that already a crisis? Do we still need to shake government officials awake before they accept that we are in a crisis]” she said, taking a swipe at the Palace’s earlier denial that the country is facing an oil crisis.
At one point during the nine-hour hearing, Garin maintained that a doomsday scenario where the country’s oil supply is depleted remains unlikely.
“Mr. Chair, I do believe that will not happen. The worst case is the prices will be really high. And we need to be willing to pay for that,” she said.
Garin has requested the Department of Budget and Management to allocate ₱20 billion from Malampaya gas project proceeds to mitigate the impact of the Middle East conflict. Budget Secretary Ronaldo Toledo said this would bring the total available budget to ₱230 billion.
On Tuesday night, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a state of national energy emergency, activating a whole-of-government response to address risks to fuel supply.
