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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Sotto bill seeks establishment of national petroleum reserve for energy security

Sotto bill seeks establishment of national petroleum reserve for energy security

Published Mar 5, 2026 03:45 pm

At A Glance

  • Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III has called for the establishment of a national petroleum reserve to strengthen the country's energy security and ensure supply stability.
Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III has called for the establishment of a national petroleum reserve to strengthen the country’s energy security and ensure supply stability.
Senate President Vicente
Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III (Senate PRIB photo)
This is amid recent exchanges of attacks among Middle Eastern countries that have affected key roads, straits, and oil refineries.
Senate Bill No. 1934, to be known as the Philippine Strategic Petroleum Reserve Act, seeks to establish a strategic petroleum reserve owned and managed by the national government through the Department of Energy (DOE), mandating the maintenance of petroleum stocks equivalent to at least 90 days of the country’s average national consumption.
“At present, the country does not maintain a comprehensive, state-managed strategic petroleum reserve capable of cushioning prolonged supply interruptions,” Sotto said.
He added in the bill's explanatory note that the Philippines remains heavily dependent on imported petroleum products to sustain transportation, agriculture, manufacturing, power generation, logistics, and essential public services.
"This structural dependence exposes the country to external supply shocks arising from geopolitical conflicts, regional instability, maritime disruptions, sanctions regimes, climate-related disasters, and speculative volatility in global oil markets," he said.
Under the proposed measure, reserve facilities to be established nationwide shall store crude oil and refined petroleum products, including diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, liquefied petroleum gas, and other energy products deemed critical by the DOE.
The emergency release of petroleum products from the reserve shall be authorized by the President, upon the recommendation of the Strategic Energy Security Council, under circumstances including but not limited to severe supply disruptions, declaration of a national emergency, extraordinary price volatility threatening economic stability, and natural disasters.
For the Senate President, preparedness is not optional, it is a responsibility.
“The establishment of this bill is a forward-looking investment in national stability, economic continuity and sovereign resilience,” he said.

Related Tags

Tito Sotto Middle East Department of Energy (DOE)
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