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MANILA, Philippines — A newly formed Senate ad hoc committee on Middle East crisis response is set to hold its first hearing on Tuesday, its chairman Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said yesterday.
In an interview over dzMM yesterday, Gatchalian said that as chairman of the Proactive Response and Oversight for Timely and Effective Crisis Strategy or PROTECT committee, he would clarify with national government agencies if there is enough fund in the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) to mitigate the adverse effects of the crisis triggered by the US-Israel attacks on Iran.
With the war now on its 22nd day, relevant government agencies should have measures in place to help those directly affected by the crisis, such as public utility drivers and motorists reeling from skyrocketing fuel prices.
Even food security is at risk because of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a busy shipping route where not only oil and natural gas flow, but fertilizer shipments as well, Gatchalian said.
He said a “sense of urgency” has compelled him to set a meeting for Tuesday even if Congress is on Holy Week break.
He said concerned agencies should have specific plans which may be consolidated, factoring in worst case scenarios.
The government should also lead in belt tightening, Gatchalian said, including through online training and limiting work travel.
He said the government can save up to P90 billion if the government stops spending for work travel, training and representation fees.
In a separate interview with dwIZ, Gatchalian emphasized that government is doing its part to help affected sectors, such as giving fuel subsidies to public utility drivers, farmers and fisherfolk, suspending fare hike and giving discounted MRT-3 and LRT-2 rides.
The President will also have the power to suspend or reduce fuel excise tax due to the crisis to lower prices of oil, Gatchalian said, citing a recently approved certified measure.
On calls for the repeal of the Oil Deregulation Law to temper hikes in fuel prices, Gatchalian said he filed a bill amending the law to allow the government to check on the prices instead of letting oil companies determine them.
Gatchalian said he hopes oil companies would have the “conscience” not to take advantage of the crisis by hoarding supply and jacking up the price.
Maharlika, PNOC team up
With the crisis in the Middle East highlighting the country’s dependence on crude import, Manila Rep. Rolando Valeriano said the Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) should expand its energy resilience exposure and arrange collaboration with the Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) and Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI).
“We need fuel depots where the government can store reserve fuel. ATI has the supply and logistics expertise for this, while the PNOC has its expertise in liquefied natural gas, energy exploration and renewable energy,” Valeriano said.
He said PNOC has fuel tankers, the Bataan Refinery and an industrial park in Limay, Bataan. It also has an energy supply base in Batangas.
“In collaboration with the PNOC, which has long been on the energy sector frontlines, Maharlika Investment Corp. can kickstart building our country’s strategic fuel reserve infrastructure now,” Valeriano said.
“Very recently, last March 18, the Maharlika Investment Corp. disclosed that it acquired an equity stake in one of the country’s most critical port and logistics infrastructure operators, Asian Terminals Inc. The result was 101,189,675 ATI shares allocated to MIC and MIC now has a seat in the ATI board,” Valeriano said in a statement.
ATI manages and operates the South Harbor through its cargo handling activities and related services granted by the Philippine Ports Authority effective until May 2038.
He said ATI also manages and operates the Inland Clearance Depot in Manila, Port of Batangas, Batangas Supply Base and Tanza Barge Terminal.
Another Manila lawmaker, Rep. Joel Chua, for his part, urged oil companies to grant rebates to consumers if it would be established that they had sold fuel stocks purchased before the escalation of the Middle East crisis at significantly higher prices.
“If the oil stocks were bought at lower prices, why the prices of gasoline station is like there is a war already?” Chua said in a statement. “The question of the people is simple: why the prices are for war-time if the oil were bought pre-war?”
A Franciscan missionary, for his part, chided officials for calling for further belt tightening among citizens, saying the call was tantamount to passing the burden to ordinary Filipinos.
“There is nothing more to tighten. What remains is hunger, exhaustion and silent suffering. To ask more from them is not only unrealistic, it is deeply unjust and heartless,” said Fr. Lino Gregorio Redoblado OFM, provincial minister of the Franciscan Province of San Pedro Bautista.
“Profit that grows while the poor suffer is not simply an economic issue – it is a moral failure,” he said.
He added the government should take responsibility amid reports of corruption and lack of immediate response to the crisis.
“Now is the time to say: ‘We are sorry…’ Indifference in the face of suffering is itself a grave injustice. Failure to act swiftly is not neutrality – it is complicity,” Redoblado said. — Jose Rodel Clapano, Bella Cariaso
