Marcos: Philippine Crude Oil Enough Until June 30

The country has enough supply of crude oil until June 30, President Marcos has assured the public. 

Marcos made the remark on the sidelines of the opening of the new NAIAX off-ramp to Terminal 3 in Pasay on Friday, March 27.  

The government is also not discounting the suspension of the 12-percent value-added tax (VAT) on petroleum products, or even amending or repealing the Oil Deregulation Law, the President said. 

However, he stressed that the effects of such moves would take a long time to be felt by the public, as he highlighted the need for immediate remedies to mitigate the effects of soaring fuel prices.

“As I said before, nothing is being discounted. Meaning, everything that can be done so that we can do something to help mitigate the impact and – this (soaring prices of) oil – this ongoing war in the Middle East is something we are really talking about, but what we are focused on now is the immediate,” he said in a separate interview in Silang, Cavite.

Marcos said amending or repealing the Oil Deregulation Law would require extensive discussions. 

“You know, we would love to amend the Oil Deregulation, (but) that requires thorough discussions. I don’t know when it will come out so we are focused right now on the immediate – what we can do immediately, as I said in my statement, what we can do immediately to help the people, that is what we are thinking about now,” he noted. 

“But as I said… we are looking at everything that can be done, we are studying it,” the Chief Executive added. 

Senate President Vicente Sotto III has filed a bill seeking to repeal Republic Act 8479, or the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998, to restore government control over fuel prices amid high costs. Critics say repealing the law could bankrupt the government as its worst case. 

Marcos on Wednesday signed Republic Act 12316, which grants him the power to suspend or reduce excise tax on petroleum products as part of the government’s initiatives to cushion the impact of soaring fuel prices. 

Malacañang said the earliest that could happen would be mid-April, considering the 15-day period before the law takes effect.

‘No energy lockdown’ 

Asked about an “energy lockdown,” a term used on social media to mean possible strict limits on energy use due to the conflict, Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said the government is not seeing it happening at this time. 

She said the Philippines is coordinating with various countries for possible fuel supplies. 

“We are stocking up and now in dialogue with other countries like India, Argentina, Canada and other countries that do not rely on the Middle East for their petroleum,” Castro said, quoting Energy Secretary Sharon Garin. 

“ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission) has now suspended the electricity market so we can have more coal, renewable energy and even Malampaya-generated power,” she added. 

Castro said the government, through the Department of Energy (DOE), is planning to secure cheaper, lower-grade diesel for the National Power Corp. to prevent blackouts. 

Petron Corp. chairman Ramon Ang, who joined Marcos in Pasay yesterday, vowed to cap revenues amid the Middle East crisis. 

“I promise the public we will not take advantage of this fuel crisis,” Ang told reporters. 

“We won’t profit beyond what is normal. And I’m even willing to lower the income. Income means nothing to me. You have my 100 percent cooperation in helping our countrymen,” he added.

LPG, jet fuel 

The DOE is prioritizing to augment the supply of diesel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and jet fuel to keep the transportation, aviation and food industries up and running.

Energy chief Sharon Garin said that half of the P20-billion emergency fund for purchasing fuel reserves would be spent on diesel alone, but she emphasized the importance of procuring LPG and jet fuel “at this stage.”

Concerns are growing as to whether these products will be available beyond the first week of May, when current reserves are expected to last.

Garin said LPG retailers managed to order supplies last weekend, extending the 23-day inventory reported by the DOE. 

“It’s enough to last until about 40 days, but since we’ve seen this situation, that current stocks are between 20 and 30 days, we’ve decided on the part of the government to prioritize LPG,” Garin told Bilyonaryo News Channel on Thursday.

Arnel Ty, founder of the LPG Marketers Association Inc., said there is no LPG shortage at the moment, but the price hike for April would be the “highest in history.”

LPG retailers have staggered the P30-per-kilo increase, with P20 implemented on Saturday and P10 on April 1.

As for jet fuel, Garin said major carriers like Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific have “increased their level of inventory.” The challenge, she said, is the price tag for jet fuel.

Jet fuel prices have risen faster than the global benchmark Brent crude. Data from the International Air Transport Association showed the weekly average price of jet fuel is now at $197 per barrel, compared to Brent’s roughly $102 per barrel.

Jet fuel is costlier due to the highly specialized tanks required for storage and its tendency to degrade in quality when unused for a long time.

Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific said they currently have enough jet fuel supply, but they are cutting back trips to save costs.

Meanwhile, Garin revealed that the 142,000 barrels of diesel procured by the Philippine National Oil Co. and PNOC Exploration Corp. came from Japan.

It’s one of four diesel shipments expected in the coming weeks that will serve as a buffer stock. It’s unclear, however, whether these already constitute the one million barrels that PNOC and PNOC-EC secured.

The first batch arrived in La Union on Wednesday and is still being unloaded, while the second one will be shipped to Batangas today.

Garin also said that the 700,000 barrels of Russian crude oil, consigned to Petron Corp., that arrived on Monday was actually the second batch. The first shipment of 700,000 barrels came “a few days ago,” bringing the total to 1.4 million barrels for processing at the country’s sole refinery in Limay, Bataan.

If all 1.4 million barrels are converted into diesel – plus the 142,000 barrels of government-procured diesel – these supplies could last about 10 days, Garin estimated.

The Bureau of Customs said major fuel shipments in La Union and Bataan were given priority processing as part of the government’s broader efforts to streamline petroleum imports amid the Middle East war.

More gas stations close

The number of gasoline stations which stopped operations due to the oil crisis rose to 425 yesterday, according to the Philippine National Police.

PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño said the figure went down to 387 on Thursday, but went up after 38 gas stations stopped operations due to lack of supply.

“Based on the initial investigation given by the municipal price coordinating councils, these gas stations ran out of stock,” he said in a news briefing at Camp Crame yesterday.

The figure represents 2.93 percent of the 14,485 gas stations nationwide.

The Cordilleras recorded the most number of fuel stations closed with 79; followed by Central Luzon, 46; Eastern Visayas, 44; Cagayan Valley, 42 and Bicol, 33.

In Metro Manila, four gasoline stations have stopped operating. – With additional reports from EJ Macababbad, Emmanuel Tupas and Aubrey Rose Inosante