President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stated on Thursday that the Philippines will persist in exploring unconventional suppliers for petroleum products, even as a fresh diplomatic accord between the United States and Iran promises to settle volatile global energy markets.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the ASEAN-Russia Commemorative Summit—which he co-chaired alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin—Marcos emphasized that protecting the archipelago’s energy security remains an absolute priority for his administration.
“Even if the war does come to an end, we, Philippines, will still continue to look for so-called non-traditional partners in terms of the supply of petroleum products,” Marcos said.
The President revealed that the country’s energy vulnerabilities were heavily featured during his bilateral talks with Putin, as well as in broader discussions involving other heads of state from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
While the high-level dialogue underscored shared concerns over oil supply lines, Marcos clarified that the meetings did not yield concrete trade pacts.
“But merely in an understanding that we will continue to develop what we had already started as a response to the oil crisis that was the effect of the war in the Middle East, which we are hoping will come to an end soon,” he said.
According to Marcos, Moscow has indicated a willingness to boost its petroleum shipments to Manila.
He pointed out that previous import arrangements with Russia were handled strictly on a volatile, case-by-case basis during heightened global conflicts.
“The reason being is that what we have been doing with Russia in terms of providing oil products to the Philippines has been on a very ad hoc basis,” he said.
“Because noong pumutok yung giyera, basta kung saan kayo makakuha, kung saan makakuha. Basta’t tingnan ninyo, basta’t kausapin nyo lahat. Maghanap tayo ng makukunan natin ng petroleum products. One of those places was Russia,” he added.
Securing an alternative, steady stream of fuel would significantly insulate the Philippine economy from future external supply shocks, the President noted.
However, Marcos admitted that transitioning toward a regularized oil trade with Russia remains heavily complicated by intricate international political and geopolitical dynamics.
“But when two parties are determined to make it work, I’m always very confident that it will work and we will find a way around those challenges and those complications so that we make it a reality,” Marcos said.