PH talking to India, Argentina, Canada for oil sources —Palace

The Philippine government is talking with India, Argentina, and Canada for possible alternative petroleum sources amid the oil price shocks brought by the conflict in the Middle East, Malacañang said Friday.

During a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro was asked for the government's contingency plans as Iran had said that it has no plan to negotiate with the United States, contrary to the remarks made by US President Donald Trump that talks are ongoing. 

Citing information from Energy Secretary Sharon Garin, Castro said the Philippines is in talks with other countries that are not dependent on the Middle East for their fuel supply. 

''Siyempre unang-una, magdasal tayo na magkaroon na ng agreement sila at magkaroon ng pagkakasundo. Kapag hindi po kasi agad nagkasundo at hindi natapos itong sigalot sa Middle East, malaki po talaga itong magiging epekto,'' Castro said.

(First let's pray that they would have an agreement. If the conflict in the Middle East won't end, there would be a huge impact.) 

''Pero muli, tinanong natin diyan si Secretary Sharon Garin at ito ang kaniyang sinabi (We also asked Secretary Sharon Garin and this was her statement), and I quote, 'We are stocking up and now in dialogue with other counties like India, Argentina, Canada, and other countries that do not rely on Middle East for their petroleum,''' she added.

Castro said the government is exhausting all measures to prevent the country from reaching the ''worst-case scenario.''

Asked if there an energy lockdown will be implemented, Castro said at present, there's no reason to do so. 

When it comes to imposing price freeze on basic goods, Castro said it is being studied as there is a need to balance this among affected sectors, especially between the oil industries and the consumers. 

''Hindi po natin sinabing hindi magpa-price freeze. Ang sabi po natin, aaralin po ito. At ito po ay babalansehin at kung ano ang nararapat para po hindi lang isang sektor ang maaapektuhan – balanse para sa oil industries, balanse para sa taumbayan,'' Castro said. 

(We're not saying there wouldn't be a price freeze. We said that this matter is being studied. And we need to balance its impact among various sectors, like the oil industries and the public.) —AOL, GMA Integrated News