Jamaine Punzalan

Motorists line up at a gasoline station along Philcoa in Diliman, Quezon City, March 6, 2026. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

OIL PRICE HIKE

Alvin Elchico

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/177431728534720260306-oil-price-hike-refueling-MT14.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Motorists line up at a gasoline station along Philcoa in Diliman, Quezon City, March 6, 2026. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News </span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — The Department of Energy on Tuesday assured the public that the country had enough petroleum inventory that did not yet warrant a declaration of a crisis despite soaring fuel prices as a result of the war in the Middle East.</p><p>In a press briefing, Secretary Sharon Garin said the Philippines had around 45 days of in-country available supply, broken down as follows. </p><ul><li>Gasoline   53.14 days</li><li>Diesel       45.82 days</li><li>Kerosene  97.93 days </li><li>Jet Fuel    38.62 days</li><li>Fuel Oil     61.49 days</li><li>LPG          23.51 days</li></ul><p>Garin said that if all Filipinos save on fuel consumption and would not hoard, the inventory could even be extended for a week. </p><p>&quot;Ang ginagawa ngayon ng DOE is to make sure that the supply is steady... we are also pushing for more supplies to come in,&quot; Garin said in a briefing.</p><p>Garin said around 1 million barrels of diesel were forthcoming after the government processed orders from traders in Southeast Asia.</p><p>The government, she said, has around P20 billion in budget to procure around 2 million barrels of diesel, enough to extend the current inventory by 10 more days of supply.</p><p>Orders from China and Russia are still being worked out but no concrete results as of yet.</p><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Freel%2F1424170926111720%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=560&amp;t=0" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div> </div><div><strong>PRIORITY JUST IN CASE</strong></div><p>The energy chief also agreed with an earlier suggestion by the Makati Business Club to lay down as early as now the prioritization of sectors that can avail of fuel supply, in case of tightness in supply.</p><p>Garin said public transportation should be prioritized since it carries a large number of passengers though the actual list of priority has not yet been finalized.</p><p>In an interview with DZMM’s Gising Pilipinas earlier in the day, MBC Chairman Edgar Chua said the government can declare a crisis and manage the crafting of information and messaging in order to prompt Filipinos to act and save on energy use. </p><p>He also suggested that the government should already plan on who to prioritize in case the situation worsens.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>ON PRICES</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Garin said the government had no control over prices as the oil industry is deregulated, meaning oil firms get to decide how to price fuel products.</p><p>Most oil firms have announced a one-time, big-time increase, unlike in the last 2 weeks when the adjustments were made in tranches.</p><p>Garin said the increase in diesel ranged from P15 to P18/liter starting Tuesday, while gasoline price spikes ranged from P8-P12/liter.</p><p>Kerosene prices rose by P12-P22/liter.</p><p>Garin said only two oil firms had declared staggered oil price hikes starting March 24.</p><p>In total, diesel prices have more than doubled from January 2026, with diesel selling at P57.60/liter three months ago, and retailing now at around P126-P130/liter.</p><p>Gasoline was just around P54.90 in January 2026 but now retails around P94-P99/liter. </p><p>But Garin said while it is true that fuel prices have spiked tremendously in the Philippines more than its neighboring countries, local prices do not have subsidies unlike in other countries.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>DIRTIER EURO 2 FUELS </strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Meanwhile, Jetti Petroleum said there was a minimal difference in price for euro 2 and euro 4 standard fuels.</p><p>Jetti Petroleum President Leo Bellas said the objective of the government in allowing the dirtier fuel standard is just to increase the inventory of fuel in the country.</p><p>Bellas said there will be some issues in fuel storage as pumping stations will need to have a separate tank for euro 2 fuels, on top of the tanks for euro 4 supply.</p><p>He added reconfiguring storage tanks in gas stations to accommodate euro 2 fuels would entail additional costs.</p><p>According to Bellas, motorists should also be aware if the euro 2 variants are still appropriate for their vehicle since newer cars are already designed to accommodate less sulfur in fuel supply.</p><p>But the DOE clarifies that the temporary measure to allow lower quality fuels is just there in case there is a need to boost supply. </p><p>So far, the DOE said, no oil company has ordered euro 2 fuels yet. </p>

<p> The Philippines' fuel supply remained enough as the US-Israel war against Iran entered its fourth week, the Department of Energy said Tuesday. </p>

The Philippines' fuel supply remained enough as the US-Israel war against Iran entered its fourth week, the Department of Energy said Tuesday.

Philippines has enough fuel inventory despite continued soaring prices, says energy chief

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Philippines has enough fuel inventory despite continued soaring prices, says energy chief

Alvin Elchico,

ABS-CBN News

Published March 24, 2026 09:56 AM PHT

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Updated March 24, 2026 10:57 AM PHT

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