Marcos declares national energy emergency

MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared on Tuesday, March 24, a state of national energy emergency as global oil prices continue to rise amid conflict in the Middle East.

“A state of national energy emergency is hereby declared in light of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, and the resulting imminent danger posed upon the availability and stability of the country’s energy supply,” read Executive Order No. 110. 

The state of national energy emergency will remain in force for up to a year, unless Marcos extends or lifts it earlier. 

The same EO, released late Tuesday, mandated the adaptation of the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport and the UPLIFT Committee, both meant to “safeguard national interest” by “mitigating the impact of the conflict in the Middle East.”

The committee, which is chaired by Marcos himself, is meant to ensure a stable domestic energy supply, delivery of essential services, continuity of economic activity, and welfare of the most vulnerable sectors, according to the same EO. 

Members of the UPLIFT Committee include the executive secretary, energy secretary, transportation secretary, social welfare secretary, agriculture secretary, finance secretary, budget secretary, and the secretary of economy, planning, and development. 

The Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DepDev) will serve as the committee’s secretariat. 

In late February, the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran, prompting retaliation in the form of attacks on US allies in the Gulf. 

Tensions have escalated in the weeks since. Civilian infrastructure has been the target of these attacks, as well as oil and gas sites in the Gulf. Iran has also blocked passage, save for select vessels, in the Strait of Hormuz, where over 20 million barrels of oil and gas once passed through daily. – Rappler.com