MANILA — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said the Philippines is exploring alternative sources of fuel as petroleum prices continue to rise due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

“Sa pagkain, mas marami tayong magagawa, naghahanap kami ng paraan pa para ibaba ang presyo ng pagkain. ‘Yung langis wala tayong magagawa diyan, pero at least ‘yung supply tinitiyak natin na magkakaroon. Kahit may stock tayo, patuloy ang paghanap ng Pilipinas dahil kumukuha talaga tayo sa Middle East, naghahanap tayo alternative sources ng langis,” Marcos told reporters.

(When it comes to food, we can do more measures and we are looking for ways to lower the prices of food products. When it comes to oil, we can’t do anything about that but at least we make sure that the supply is enough. Even if we have stock, the Philippines continue to look for alternative sources of oil.)

The President said the government is adjusting policies to protect public livelihoods. He cited transport workers as an example, noting that fare hikes have been deferred while additional support is provided.

“We are adjusting well and we want to… ang talagang goal namin dito is to keep ‘yung hanapbuhay ng tao, na mayroon silang hanapbuhay and the only way to do that is kung hindi natin, halimbawa ‘yung transport workers, hindi itataas ang fare sa ngayon, deferred lang muna ang fare hike eh dadagdagan muna natin ang tulong sa kanila,” he added.

(Our goal here is to keep the jobs of the public. And the only way to do that is for example, when it comes to transport workers, we deferred the fare hike but we will add assistance for them.)

The statement comes as Iran’s military warned that oil prices could reach as high as USD200 per barrel, effectively shutting the Strait of Hormuz, a key passage for 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas.

Fuel prices in the Philippines have continued to climb, with some reaching P100 per liter due to staggered adjustments by oil companies. Despite the increases, Marcos earlier assured the public that supply remains sufficient and there is no need to hoard products.