By Brian Campued
Malacañang on Thursday reaffirmed the government’s commitment to exhausting all options available to cushion the impact of rising fuel prices brought by the conflict in the Middle East.
During a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro stressed that while President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s Executive Order 110 allows the government to exercise emergency powers to address the current situation, existing laws such as Oil Deregulation Law prevent the state from taking over oil retailers to control pump prices.
“Kapag po may Oil Deregulation Law, hindi naman po kaagad makakapasok at makakapag-interfere ang state, maliban lamang po, sabi nga po ni [Energy] Secretary [Sharon] Garin, kung may bad faith, may abuso, doon po maaari tayong mag-regulate at para po maiwasan ang pang-aabuso ng mga nananamantala,” Castro explained, noting only the Congress has the power to act on the provisions of the law.
Castro, however, assured that the administration is doing all it can to protect Filipinos and their livelihoods, citing initiatives such as distributing fuel subsidies to affected sectors and coordinating with manufacturers regarding maintaining the prices of basic and prime commodities.
“Ang gobyerno po, lahat ng puwedeng gawin within the bounds of law ay gagawin po. Hindi naman po tayo maaaring kumilos tapos lalabag naman po tayo sa ating batas. So, kung ano po ang maaari lamang gawin ng gobyerno para maibsan ang dulot nitong krisis sa Middle East, gagawin po lahat ng gobyerno,
Nakikita po natin kung ano po ang ginagawa ng gobyerno. Maaari pong ang ibang mga bansa ay talagang nahihirapan po sa nangyayari sa sitwasyon, pero sa ngayon po ay nakikita ninyo po kung paano kumilos ang gobyerno, kung gaano kabilis kumilos ang gobyerno at kung gaano na rin karami ang ginawa ng gobyerno para sa ating taumbayan,” she said.
In line with Marcos Jr.’s directive of a whole-of-government approach to address the impact of ongoing global challenges, Castro assured that the Department of Energy (DOE), with the help of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), is working closely with other countries to find alternative sources of energy supply.
She added that the Philippines remains open to possible joint oil and gas exploration with China, after the President mentioned in a recent Bloomberg interview that discussions could be revived amid the current global oil crisis.
“Kung anuman po ang maaaring idulot ng anumang negosasyon, at ito ay magiging maganda para sa Pilipinas, iyan naman po ay hindi tututulan ng Pangulo. Ang sabi nga po ni [DFA] Secretary [Ma. Theresa] Lazaro, sa ngayon po ay wala pa pong joint exploration with China pero hindi naman ibig sabihin na hindi magkakaroon. So, open din po ang Pilipinas,” she said.
-jpv
