DOE’s Garin says PH has average 45 days of fuel supply, down by 10 days since war began

2026-03-24 - 12:41

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines had an average of 45 days’ supply of fuel as of March 20, down from 55 to 57 days’ supply when the war in the Middle East started nearly a month ago, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said. In a press conference on Tuesday, March 24, Garin said the country’s supply of LPG was at 23 days, jet fuel at 38 days, diesel at 45 days, gasoline at 53 days, fuel oil at 61 days, and kerosene at 97 days. Image from Department of Energy presentation on March 24, 2026 These calculations are all based on the Philippines’ average daily demand from April to September 2025. “Kung tataas po ‘yan, iiksi po ‘yung number of days natin. Kung steady lang siya, 45 days ‘yan,” Garin said, adding that fuel conservation by everyone can prolong the supply. (If consumption goes up, the number of days’ supply goes down. If steady, 45 days’ supply.) She said the situation was not yet alarming since the average supply had not gone down to 15 days. Garin described the supply as still “manageable.” She said the state-owned Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) was working to increase buffer stocks by 1 million barrels of oil worth P10 billion, good for an additional week. The PNOC has already contracted an additional 400,000 barrels of fuel and is negotiating another 600,000 barrels. She said the government has had “successful dialogues” with South Korea, India, Japan, and even China on increasing the Philippines’ fuel inventory. Garin appealed to the public and private sectors to conserve fuel, and for petroleum businesses not to engage in profiteering. In terms of prices, the energy chief said the price increase this week would range from P8 to P12 per liter for gasoline, P15 to P18 per liter for diesel, and P12 to P22 for kerosene. Screenshot from Department of Energy presentation on March 24, 2026. These increases would result in the pump prices ranging from P82.60 to P102.5 for the cheapest gasoline, P107 to P134 for diesel, and P114.99 to P144.20 for diesel plus. – Rappler.com