The Department of Energy (DOE) has proposed allowing limited imports of biofuels to help lower gasoline pump prices amid rising global oil costs.

During a Senate Committee on Energy hearing, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said the country still has a sufficient supply of refined products such as gasoline, kerosene, and diesel to last until April.

"On the price point, currently it's inevitable. The price of fuel, the pump price, will go up. One possibility that we could also temper the sharp increase is having more biofuel, especially on gas, not on diesel," she added.

She noted that geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continue to pose risks.

The hearing tackled Senate Bill No. 1485, otherwise known as the Biofuel Act of 2006.

The proposed measure seeks to reduce fuel prices by suspending the implementation of the biofuel blend requirement of gasoline and diesel for a year if the price of blended gasoline or diesel is at least 5 percent as compared with pure gasoline or diesel engine fuels.

“The goal is to protect Filipino families from sudden spikes in fuel costs while maintaining long-term energy security,” Sen. Pia Cayetano, chairperson of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said.

Under current law, the government can only import fuel once local supplies are fully exhausted.

"The proposal is to allow importation if the price of domestic is 5 percent more than the price of fuel. May limit naman siya and we limit it to a certain period para di naman siya institutionalized," Garin explained.

"Only in certain circumstances. So the proposal is to allow it when the price is more than 5 percent of pure fuel, pure gas. Only to a maximum of 1 year. Hopefully it will be shorter," she added.

Currently, domestic biofuel costs around P75 per liter, while imported biofuel is priced at about P37 per liter—roughly half the local price and even lower than the P43 per liter cost of gasoline.

Local ethanol producers, however, expressed concern over the proposal, saying it could affect nearly 100,000 farmers who produce molasses, a key raw material for ethanol used in biofuel.

Garin assured that the DOE is aiming to balance prices carefully to avoid harming consumers. She added that the measure is temporary and would be implemented for a year or less.

"We’re not here to kill the industry. We’re trying to balance it with what our fuel needs is," she said.

However, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, stressed the need to strike a balance between protecting consumer welfare and supporting the local ethanol industry when considering the proposed amendments to the Biofuels Act of 2006.

"We cannot erase the fact that ethanol is cheaper abroad. At this time, what consumers want is cheaper ethanol. That is the dilemma right now. We want to help the industry, but the industry is selling expensive local ethanol compared to imports," Gatchalian said.

Currently, the Biofuels Act mandates the use of locally-sourced bioethanol in fuel blends to reduce dependence on imported fuels. Several lawmakers are seeking to temporarily suspend this provision and allow the use of cheaper bioethanol sourced from other countries.