Transport unions say the state of emergency is a “cosmetic band-aid” that does not address the root causes of the fuel crisis.
Published March 25, 2026
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a national energy emergency in response to the United States and Israel’s war against Iran and what he called an “immediate danger” to the country’s energy supplies.
Tuesday’s declaration of a state of emergency comes as Philippine transit workers, commuters and consumer groups plan a two-day strike starting Thursday to protest fuel price increases they say the Marcos administration has failed to act quickly.
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“Declaring a national energy emergency will enable the government to take immediate and coordinated measures under current law to address the risks posed by disruptions to… global energy supplies and the domestic economy,” Marcos Jr. said.
As part of the emergency response, a committee has been established to ensure the orderly movement, supply, distribution and availability of fuel, food, medicine, agricultural products and other essential goods, he said.
The state of emergency is in effect for one year and authorizes the government to procure fuel and petroleum products and prepay a portion of contract amounts if necessary to ensure timely and sufficient supplies.
The authorities are also empowered to take action against hoarding, profiteering and manipulation of petroleum product supplies.
Earlier on Tuesday, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said at a press conference that the country still has about 45 days’ worth of fuel supplies, based on current consumption levels.
Garin said the government is working to procure 1 million barrels of oil from countries within and outside Southeast Asia to increase buffer stocks, but there is likely to be uncertainty in reaching this level.
Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez told Reuters that Manila was working with the US to secure exemptions that would allow it to buy oil from countries under US sanctions.
The ambassador said “all options are on the table” as to whether Iranian and Venezuelan oil would be included in talks with the United States.
However, transport unions and Philippine senators criticized the government’s response to the crisis, accusing the Marcos administration of lacking unified and coordinated action to reduce the impact of soaring oil prices.
Piston, the public transport association, called the declaration of a national energy emergency “a superficial band-aid that deliberately ignores the structural roots of the fuel crisis.”
“If the government is serious about protecting transport workers and commuters from this geopolitical crisis, it will immediately suspend excise and value-added taxes on petroleum products and significantly reduce prices overnight,” Pistone said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Furthermore, as long as multinational oil cartels continue to be legally empowered to set exorbitant pump prices at will, ordering the Department of Energy to simply monitor ‘profiteering’ activity is a coward.”
Renato Reyes Jr. of the progressive civil society coalition Bayan said the declaration “does not address the fundamental issue of runaway oil prices and the impact on the country’s mass transit system and other sectors.”
“There is no mention of the abolition or suspension of oil taxes, which is the core of the people’s demands,” Reyes Jr. told Al Jazeera.
“Where can we find the necessary price controls?”
As part of the government’s mitigation measures, students and workers are being given free bus rides in some cities, and the government has begun giving motorbike taxi drivers and other public transport workers across the country a 5,000 peso ($83) subsidy to combat rising gasoline and diesel prices.
With reporting from Manila by Michael Beltran.
