Renewable energy (RE) advocates may roll their eyes, but the Middle East friction is shouting a bitter punchline: the world still treats fossil fuels like chocolate. The appetite is insatiable and relentless; if the supply runs dry, economies could fall apart faster than a cookie dunked in milk....
A Senate panel on Wednesday, March 11, approved "in principle" the proposals that would grant President Marcos powers to either suspend or reduce excise tax on fuel amid rising fuel costs. "In principle, the members who attended are supportive of the main principle of the bill, which is to give...
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...
The ongoing Middle East conflict has cast a harsh spotlight on the Philippines’ vulnerabilities, exposing an energy supply chain so fragile that every global flare-up sends shockwaves straight to Filipino households. After 25 years of power industry deregulation and decades of oil market...
The price of diesel could reach as high as P90 per liter this month if the conflict in the Middle East persists, the Department of Energy (DOE) said. During the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing, DOE Oil Industry Management Bureau (OIMB) Director Rino Abad explained that the potential...
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. This is amid recent exchanges of attacks among Middle Eastern countries that have affected key roads, straits, and oil...
If there’s a “most punishing relationship” in town, it’s the one between consumers and their power utilities. It is a toxic romance where the bills keep climbing, but mercy never comes. This month, many consumers served by utility giant Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) were stunned by a...
LONDON, England – A major inflection point for nuclear power development in the Philippines and Southeast Asia will be spotlighted when global industry leaders gather for the World Nuclear Supply Chain Conference in Manila on May 20–21 this year. In an exclusive interview, Dr. Sama Bilbao y...
Even as Malacañang insists no Cabinet shake-up is imminent, backroom whispers are growing louder that the administration may “recycle” 2025 midterm election losers into key posts once the appointment ban lifts this May. Just last week, industry and political circles were abuzz with rumors that...
Every new gas find is a hard-won victory for the Philippines—whether it is a fresh discovery or added production. President Marcos’s revelation that Malampaya East-1 (MAE-1) holds an estimated 98 billion cubic feet (BCF) of reserves signals that the country has struck a deeper kind of...
If there is one thing the energy sector can unanimously credit Secretary Sharon Garin for, it is grit: she cuts through bureaucracy, stands toe-to-toe with political power, mobilizes agencies, and brings stalled energy projects back into motion. Her record is written in resolved bottlenecks, such...
Host communities are set to receive a three-fold increase in financial incentives from power projects as the Department of Energy (DOE) begins implementing the strengthened subsidy framework this month. In a statement on Wednesday, Jan. 14, the DOE said the total financial benefit for localities...
