Marcos assures sufficient PH oil supply flow even after 45 days

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. assured Wednesday that the country would have a sufficient supply of oil products even beyond 45 days as the government is expecting the arrival of fuel deliveries.

To recall, the Marcos administration has about 45 days of fuel supply as of March 20, and is procuring an additional 1 million barrels of oil for buffer stock.

"And although we cannot be assured right now of the supply, we can be sure that at least for 45 days we will be all right. I think that we can be fairly confident–we can be confident that after the 45 days, we still have... [deliveries would have] already arrived here in the Philippines," Marcos said. 

"We will have already a flow of oil, not just one delivery, not just two deliveries but a flow of petroleum and petroleum-related products," he added. 

Marcos said he credits the success of ensuring oil supply to the "good relations that we have with our partner countries around the world."

"And we have not only gone to the oil suppliers, the traditional oil suppliers, we have tried to explore other sources that are not affected by the war that is ongoing in the Middle East," the President said. 

On Tuesday, Marcos declared a state of national energy emergency and ordered the adoption of a Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT) for affected sectors.

Marcos signed Executive Order 110, declaring a state of national energy emergency and adopting UPLIFT, activating a whole-of-government response to ensure energy supply stability; support for key sectors such as transport, agriculture, and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs); and protection of Filipinos amid global oil supply disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict.

Marcos' EO directed and authorized the Department of Energy "to take appropriate measures to safeguard the stability and adequacy of the country's energy supply and mitigate the adverse effects of disruptions in global energy supply markets."

The Department of Transportation, meanwhile, was instructed to provide measures to mitigate the impact on the transport sector and the commuting public. — VDV, GMA Integrated News