President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the creation of a 'crisis committee' to safeguard the Philippines' food and fuel supplies as the Middle East conflict escalates, but the announcement has been met with widespread skepticism due to its lack of concrete details.
During a recent Palace briefing, Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro revealed that the committee's primary goal is to prevent disruptions in essential goods like petroleum and food. However, she quickly shifted focus to downplay concerns, stating there is no 'official' oil supply crisis—only a 'price disruption'—and noting that existing regulations limit the government's ability to control oil prices.
'The time to declare an 'oil crisis' is when replenishment of existing reserves is at risk, not when those reserves are exhausted,' critics argue, pointing to reports that the country currently has about two months of petroleum supply.
Observers warn that the government appears to underestimate the prolonged impact of the Middle East war, which could constrain supplies and keep prices elevated for months or even years. The ad hoc approach of forming cross-agency committees for national crises has historically proven inefficient, with responses often lagging behind evolving circumstances.
A potential solution exists in Senate Resolution 343, which unanimously approved a National Contingencies Plan earlier this month. This framework aims to institutionalize crisis management, yet the administration has not committed to adopting it. Instead, the new committee risks 'reinventing the wheel' by starting from scratch rather than leveraging the Senate's proposal.
With the crisis deepening daily, there is limited time for President Marcos to align the committee with the Senate's plan. Doing so could address immediate challenges while establishing a more effective, lasting response system for future emergencies.