Rowegie Abanto

Commuters wait for available rides at Philcoa, Quezon City, on March 27, 2026, during the second day of a transport strike. Led by groups under the "No to Oil Price Hike Coalition," the protest aims to decry rising fuel prices and urge the government to ease taxes on petroleum products. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

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TRANSPORT STRIKE- STRANDED COMMUTERS

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177666421303520260326-transport-strike-cubao-MT9.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Members of transport group PISTON and allied organizations under the No to Oil Price Hike Coalition stage a protest rally in Cubao, Quezon City, as part of the nationwide transport strike on Thursday, March 26, 2026. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — An economist on Monday called on the Marcos administration to revise the <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/3/24/marcos-declares-state-of-national-energy-emergency-1927">state of national energy emergency</a> it declared in March to allow broader government control on the oil industry, amid lingering uncertainty about the US-Israeli war with Iran. </p><p>Sonny Africa, executive director of the think tank IBON Foundation, proposed dropping &quot;energy&quot; in the government&#x27;s emergency declaration because the word made the order &quot;toothless.&quot;</p><p>He told ANC that the proclamation should only be a state of national emergency, which makes Section 14e of the Oil Deregulation Law &quot;operative.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/4/17/philippines-us-to-build-economic-security-zone-in-luzon-1326">Poor households hardest hit by soaring oil prices—study</a></div><p>That provision in the law authorizes the government to temporarily take over the operations of oil companies during times of crisis, Africa noted. </p><p>&quot;Taking over,&quot; he said, means allowing the government to look into the books of gas companies and compare how much they make in the Philippines and abroad.</p><p>A day after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a state of national energy emergency in the Philippines, the first country to do so in the world amid the global energy crisis, he was asked whether the government was considering a takeover of oil companies. </p><p>&quot;I don&#x27;t want to go into that discussion,&quot; Marcos told reporters.</p><p>Ramon Ang, president and CEO of Petron Corp., the country&#x27;s sole oil refiner, earlier said the company <a href="https://www.facebook.com/reel/1966159714334662">would not take advantage</a> of the crisis.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/3/5/doe-can-take-over-oil-firms-during-national-emergencies-sc-1523">SC upholds takeover power of DOE over oil firms during national emergencies</a></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/4/13/marcos-needs-enabling-law-to-cut-or-suspend-vat-on-oil-palace-1429">Marcos needs enabling law to cut or suspend VAT on oil – Palace</a></div><p>Africa&#x27;s suggestions come as the world awaits a resolution to the war in Iran, which has upended international oil and trade activities and raised concerns of long-term damage to the global economy.</p><p>While <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/4/20/diesel-prices-sliding-by-p24-94-per-liter-in-third-week-of-april-1021">oil prices have fallen in the Philippines</a> as warring nations seek to strike a peace deal, lasting reforms have been sought to further bring down pump prices, which some fear may not return to pre-war levels.</p><p>Some proposed examining the fairness of the application of <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/3/18/why-can-oil-firms-hike-prices-for-fuel-bought-weeks-ago-1839">replacement cost</a>, which fuel companies use to compute petroleum prices and is enabled by the Oil Deregulation Law.</p><p>Africa said the replacement cost system is &quot;not the standard&quot; as he noted that the Philippines has one of the highest oil prices in Southeast Asia because of a deregulated oil industry.</p><p>Nine out of 11 countries in the region, including oil importers, do not adopt replacement cost pricing in which the &quot;full cost&quot; of inventory placement fees are passed on to consumers, he said.</p><p>Energy Secretary Sharon Garin has previously acknowledged that the government may need regulatory powers to keep pump prices reasonable during national emergencies. </p><p>She also <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/4/13/energy-chief-backs-review-of-oil-deregulation-law-1427">supported a review</a> of the Oil Deregulation Law.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/3/13/economist-bats-for-wealth-tax-cut-in-local-projects-amid-mideast-war-1441">Economist bats for wealth tax, cut in local projects amid Mideast war</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IP5VoXeoDig?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/b1zKSvTl9m4?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>An economist on Monday called on the Marcos administration to revise the <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/3/24/marcos-declares-state-of-national-energy-emergency-1927">state of national energy emergency</a> it declared in March to allow broader government control on the oil industry, amid lingering uncertainty about the US-Israeli war with Iran.</p>

An economist on Monday called on the Marcos administration to revise the state of national energy emergency it declared in March to allow broader government control on the oil industry, amid lingering uncertainty about the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Economist urges Marcos to revise energy emergency declaration amid Iran war uncertainty

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Economist urges Marcos to revise energy emergency declaration amid Iran war uncertainty

Rowegie Abanto,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 20, 2026 02:56 PM PHT

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