President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. stated on Monday that Asian nations, including the Philippines, must actively pursue alternative energy sources and supply strategies as prolonged conflict in the Middle East continues to disrupt global oil markets.
Speaking at a roundtable discussion with Japanese media in Malacañang, Marcos highlighted how the recent surge in fuel prices has exposed the extreme vulnerability of oil-dependent economies to international geopolitical shocks.
He noted that even if stability returns to the critical Strait of Hormuz shipping lane, the regional energy landscape has permanently shifted.
“The opening of the Strait of Hormuz, I think, will be, of course, a very important development. However, despite that, I don’t think that we will go back to the old system where the majority of the petroleum products that are coming out of the Strait of Hormuz are going to Asia,” the President said.
“I think Asia is going to start looking for alternative measures in case this happens again,” Marcos said. “In the longer term, it just makes more important the move of the Philippines and all our countries away from fossil fuels towards more renewable energy sources.”
The Chief Executive acknowledged that supply shortages forced the Philippine government to temporarily relax certain regulations and rely heavily on coal power to prevent electricity shortfalls, despite the country’s long-term environmental commitments.
“However, with this happening in the Middle East well, at this point, you say anything that can provide us with power and energy, we will take it up again. So, we had to change some of the rules and go back to the old ways of producing power, coal being one of them. But, again, that’s in the short term,” Marcos admitted.
Energy security and regional resilience will top the agenda for Marcos’ upcoming state visit to Japan from May 26 to 29.
As the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Philippines intends to push for stronger implementation of the ASEAN Petroleum Security Agreement (APSA) to secure electricity supplies and establish strategic regional petroleum reserves.
Marcos expressed gratitude to Tokyo for its technical guidance and plans to discuss how the Philippines can tap into Japan’s $10-billion financial pledge under the Partnership on Wide Energy and Resources Resilience initiative.
Comparing the geopolitical crisis to a global health emergency, Marcos emphasized that the economic fallout requires a total overhaul of existing international trade structures.
“In many ways, the crisis in the Middle East is very much like a pandemic. It has and will continue to change just about everything,” the President said.
“The way we move, the way that we work, the way that we do business, the way, of course, our supply chains once again become such a prominent part of the discussion. And those, I think, are the kinds of discussions that we will have when we go to Japan.”