The Philippines is moving to establish its first systematic strategic petroleum reserve program to insulate the domestic economy from volatile global supply chains and geopolitical shocks, according to the Department of Energy (DOE).

Under a newly established framework dubbed Partnership On Wide Energy and Resources Resilience Asia (POWERR Asia), the DOE will coordinate with foreign state institutions and private commercial entities to develop a national oil stockpiling mechanism.

The initiative is a shift for the Philippines, which is deploying the collaborative framework to build supply buffers and reduce its long-term dependency on unhedged, spot-market imported fossil fuels.

To kickstart the program, the government plans to construct entirely new, state-of-the-art stockpiling facilities. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan is scheduled to dispatch technical experts within the coming days to release the initial terms for comprehensive feasibility studies, officially opening the development window.

Once the project formally commences, participating developers must commit to a strict, multi-year construction timeline to achieve operational readiness. Successful partners will receive technical capacity building from the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia and the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security.

To mitigate financial and construction risks, the DOE is encouraging developers to explore joint ventures with Japanese trading companies and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. This structure is intended to guarantee execution across engineering, procurement, and construction phases while securing stable project financing.

The Philippine and Japanese governments previously finalized the core alignment of POWERR Asia, mapping out a cooperation matrix that spans both state-backed technical assistance and direct private-sector capital participation.

The infrastructure push follows earlier emergency interventions by the Marcos administration. During the peak of the recent energy crisis, the government activated a ₱20 billion emergency fund to procure approximately two million barrels of refined petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas to stabilize local inventories.

The DOE has since paused further emergency procurement deals, noting that the country’s total fuel reserves currently sit at a comfortable level. (Gabriell Christel Galang)