According to the Philippine ABS-CBN news website on September 23, Philippine Energy Minister Sharon Garin said that in order to ensure a sufficient supply of oil for the Philippines, the government has contacted 'almost all countries' including China, the United States, and Russia.
Jia Ren expresses that this is one of the measures the government has taken during the current oil crisis to "disperse risk".
She said, “The worst-case scenario is not just high prices. I believe the worst-case scenario would be a lack of oil in the Philippines. We rely on imports, so we are currently taking measures to ensure sufficient supplies. Without oil, our hospitals, generator sets, power plants, and even transportation systems cannot function. Without oil, we can do nothing at all. Therefore, we are taking steps to prevent this from happening. We know that there is no problem with current supplies, but just in case, we are trying to diversify our risks.”
Garn said that currently, about 80% of oil or petroleum products in the Philippines pass through the Hormuz Strait, either directly or indirectly.
She said, “Therefore, we are also in contact with countries in Russia, Canada, the United States, and even South American nations. We have already begun discussions with countries like Colombia… and even Australia. In this way, if something really happens there, and the strait is truly closed, preventing oil supplies from being transported out, we can still seek supplies from other friendly countries. We have contacted almost all countries, including those in Southeast Asia or China and Japan in Asia.”
Garen said that she believes the Department of Energy has handled this crisis well. "This crisis started in March, or at the end of February. I think that so far, the Department of Energy has dealt with it quite well."
Jia Ren also stated that the Philippines currently still has a supply of oil usable for approximately 54 days.
In March of this year, Philippine President Marcos stated that the government is working with power generation companies to increase the capacity of the national electricity grid within the next 60 days. At the same time, negotiations are underway with trading partners such as India, China, Japan, Thailand, Brunei, and South Korea to establish potential fuel supply arrangements.
