Malacañang has appealed to the people to refrain from sowing fear amid the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, stressing that President Marcos "is in control" of the conflict's impacts.

"Ang pakiusap lamang po natin sa ngayon dahil nasa sitwasyon tayong ganito, let us refrain from doing activities like fear mongering (Our only request for now, given the situation we are in, is that we refrain from engaging in activities like fear-mongering)," Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said in press briefing in Cebu on Tuesday, March 17.

"Mas nakakadagdag po ito ng takot sa ating mga kababayan samantalang ang Pangulo po at ang gobyerno ay still under control, in control of the situation (This only adds to the fear felt by our fellow citizens, while the President and the government are still in control of the situation)," She stressed.

Castro also said that the government is "not yet in the situation" to declare a state of national emergency in order for the government to temporarily takeover the oil industry to regulate fuel prices.

"Sa ngayon po ay wala pa po tayo sa ganoong sitwasyon dahil ang pamahalaan po sa pamamagitan ng Department of Energy sa pamumuno po ni Secretary Sharon Garin ay nakakausap pa po ang mga oil companies, ang namumuno sa mga oil companies at wala po tayo sa ganoong sitwasyon (At present, we are not yet in that kind of situation because the government, through the Department of Energy under the leadership of Secretary Sharon Garin, is still in talks with oil companies and their executives, so we are not in that situation)," Castro said.

At the same time, she said, measures are being drafted and will be enacted into law to grant the President the authority to reduce additional taxes on crude oil or fuel products.

Asked for the Palace's position on the appeal to repeal the Oil Deregulation Law, Castro said it is now up to the Congress to study it.

"Nasa Kongreso na po iyan kung ano po ang kanilang nasa saloobin, kung ano ang nakikita nilang magiging maganda para sa ating bansa at kung maipapakita nila at maiimpluwensiya nila sa pamamagitan ng kanilang pagbalangkas ng batas ang ating Pangulo lahat po ng ikagaganda ng bansa hindi naman po ito tututulan ng Pangulo (That is now in Congress, whatever their views are and what they see as beneficial for our country and if they can present these and influence the President through the laws they craft, anything that will improve the nation will not be opposed by the President)," Castro said.