Gov’t urged to brace for possible local price hikes following global oil output cuts  

The national government should prepare for a potential increase in domestic oil prices after global prices surged on Monday following Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+oil producers' decision to further reduce oil output by 1.16 million barrels per day, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said on Tuesday, April 4.
 
“This event is unfortunate, and the government should immediately take actions that would cushion the impact of a possible effect on the domestic economy, particularly since this would further intensify inflationary pressures,” said Gatchalian, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy. 
 
Gatchalian also said the Department of Energy (DOE) should immediately coordinate with industry players to ensure a sufficient and steady supply of energy in the country.
 
Likewise, he said the Land Transportation Regulatory and Franchising Board (LTFRB) should also prepare for an efficient and timely distribution of cash aid under the government’s “Pantawid Pasada” program.
 
The senator noted that based on the implementation of the program, its effectiveness is hinged largely on the timeliness of its disbursement to targeted beneficiaries. Thus, the government needs to make preparations as early as possible.
 
“To avoid delay in the disbursement of the subsidy and to ensure the desired impact is realized, the LTFRB and other government agencies concerned should be ready to implement the program efficiently and should have learned the lessons from previous disbursements,” he said.
 
Furthermore, he said the DOE should also expedite the implementation of the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (EVIDA) to usher in a widespread use of electric vehicles (EVs) to ease the country's dependece on imported oil in the long run.  
 
“Alam natin na anumang pagkagambala sa suplay ng langis ay nagdudulot ng mas mataas na presyo. Kaya’t dapat na maging mabilis ang aksyon ng gobyerno na tumugon sa hamon na ito upang magkaroon ng agarang proteksyon ang mga sektor na labis na apektado ng pagtaas ng presyo ng langis (We know that any interruption in oil supply causes higher prices. So the government's action must be quick to respond to this challenge so that the sectors that are greatly affected by the increase in oil prices have immediate protection),” the lawmaker stressed.