Palace hopeful oil diplomacy would build up PH oil reserves
Published Apr 8, 2026 01:07 pm
Executive Secretary Ralph Recto (Photo courtesy of OES)
Executive Secretary Ralph Recto expressed hopes that the oil diplomacy the Philippines is pursuing amid the Iran-US conflict would not only replenish the country's stocks, but build it up.
Recto stated this during a meeting with business groups and executives of petroleum companies on Tuesday, April 6.
The Palace official met with 22 leaders of nine business groups in Malacañan to hammer out moves that will blunt the blow of petroleum price spikes on people, prices and productivity.
They later met with 25 executives from 14 petroleum companies for a “wide-ranging dialogue on supply, inventory and cost issues.”
“In the latter, we took a dipstick reading on our country’s fuel tank,“ Recto said, which Energy Secretary Sharon Garin latter announced was good for 50 days.
“And we are hopeful that oil diplomacy should not only keep our stocks replenished, but build them up,” he said.
Among the oil diplomacy the government is pursuing is a negotiation with Iran for the safe passage of tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.
In a meeting with business leaders, Recto assured them that the country maintains sufficient fuel supply.
He further assured them "of an open line of communication not only with Malacañang but with all government agencies."
Address port congestion
During the meeting, business leaders said logistics bottlenecks must be cleared up and trade facilitation sped up as rising fuel costs jack up the prices of goods being transported.
On port congestion, Recto referred their proposal to open container yards outside Metro Manila to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) “for immediate action.”
The Executive Secretary also sent the proposal to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority to urgently review the duration of truck ban hours.
During the meeting, it was raised that “diesel accounts for approximately 70 percent movement costs and one container van carries the products made by hundreds of workers and needed by thousands of consumers."
It was also stressed during the meeting that "delay is cost passed on to the consumers."
More efficient online transactions of documents as an energy saving measure was also raised during the meeting.
Recto said action on their appeal for lower fees charged by local governments “will be fast tracked.”
“With or without this conflict, we should be removing friction costs across the supply chain. Kasama na diyan yung mga hindi kinakailangang check point lalo na sa mga biyahero ng mga pagkaing mabilis mabulok (including the unnecessary check points, especially for perishable goods),” Recto said.
Recto asked for the private sector’s support by practicing energy saving, implementing flexible work arrangements, and preventing unfair pricing practices.
“This is a time for partnership of all, and not profiteering of the few,“ he said.
All their proposals have been referred as "Office of the President directives" to agencies such as the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Philippine Export Zones Authority (PEZA), he added.
Other Cabinet members who joined Recto in the meetings were Energy Secretary Sharon Garin , Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, Presidential Communications (PCO) Secretary Dave Gomez.
Business groups present were the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Management Association of the Philippines, the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines, Makati Business Club, and Ease of Doing Business Foundation.