From Ben Kritz’s column in The Manila Times: Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson (said that) the government needs to take decisive and perhaps even “extreme” action to come to grips with skyrocketing oil prices. Rather than just leave it at that, Lacson went on to specify the legal tools and funds that are already in place to do that.

Real talk vs fantasy

By Ben Kritz
April 7, 2026

THERE was an interesting juxtaposition of news stories from the Senate in yesterday’s (Monday’s) paper. On page 1 was the headline, “Lacson seeks ‘extreme’ measures vs oil shock,” and on Page 3 was another headline, “Senators laud PH, Iran agreement.” Credit to our editors for putting them in the proper order, because what Lacson had to say had some substance and indicated a grasp of the current reality, while the others (Senators Villanueva and Ejercito in this instance) were emitting simplistic, and possibly even misleading platitudes that add nothing to the national conversation.

I’ll dispense with the second story first because there is not much to say about it. The fact that a couple of senators think that Iran’s granting of passage through the Strait of Hormuz for Philippine-bound ships is a good thing is not news. It would have been news if they disagreed with it and feel the government should be doing something else instead. Not content with simply saying something irrelevant, both Villanueva and Ejercito went on to suggest that the deal would provide economic relief for the teeming masses from high oil prices. That is unrealistically optimistic, and even a little reckless, because as has been repeatedly explained — and which their colleague Senator Lacson clearly understands, which I’ll get to in a moment — the arrangement with Iran will not result in lower oil prices, but simply eases supply concerns for the moment.

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, on the other hand, said in an interview on Sunday that the government needs to take decisive and perhaps even “extreme” action to come to grips with skyrocketing oil prices. Rather than just leave it at that, Lacson went on to specify the legal tools and funds that are already in place to do that.

There were three measures cited by Lacson in his radio interview. Republic Act 8479, or the Oil Industry Deregulation Act, provides for the Department of Energy (DOE) to “temporarily take over or direct the operation of any person or entity engaged in the industry,” in times of national emergency or when there is otherwise a compelling reason to protect the public interest. Since there isn’t really a legal basis for a “national energy emergency” as we have now, the second condition would probably apply. Similarly, RA 12120, or the Philippine Natural Gas Industry Development Act, also allows a similar government takeover in the natural gas industry in times of national emergency.

The third measure that Lacson cited is a bit odd, because there doesn’t seem to be an application for it. That is RA 9511, or the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) Franchise Act, which allows the president to temporarily take over and operate the transmission system and/or subtransmission systems of NGCP, or suspend its operation in the interest of public safety, security and welfare. The country’s electrical grid is not affected by the oil price crisis, and there really is no way it could be; generation charges are certain to go up because of higher fuel costs, but transmission charges are not tied to these, and are very unlikely to change. If anything, the NGCP may even find a way to reduce them temporarily as a consumer-friendly gesture, though that would only provide modest relief. However, as an example of one of the laws with the means for government intervention in times of crisis baked into it, RA 9511 does at least support the point Lacson was making that the government has tools at its disposal.

As far as funding to support government interventions, there is almost P200 billion in unobligated and unreleased appropriations in the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA), and P31 billion in the 2025 GAA, Lacson said. He cautioned that the use of these funds has to be carefully monitored, and should be directed to the sectors that need it most, particularly transport.

Lacson also gently chided the government for not disclosing the results of actions taken against gas stations and other fuel dealers who were caught jacking up their prices early on in the crisis. “The public deserves feedback on what happened to the offenders that were caught in plain sight raising fuel prices without authorization from the DOE or [the] Energy Regulatory Commission,” Lacson said, the implication being that this would serve as a warning to other would-be profiteers, and build a bit of public confidence in the government’s handling of the crisis.

Finally, Lacson expressed some frustration that RA 12316, which was recently passed to give the president power to suspend the fuel excise tax, among other things, may take effect when it is too late for it to do any real good. The law prescribes a 30-day monitoring period before the tax can be suspended, and will only come into effect on April 12. That means the soonest the tax suspension will happen is May 12, and there will be six weeks of fuel price adjustments — probably increases, although we can be hopeful, I suppose — by that date. Any fuel price hike of more than P6.72 for diesel or P11.20 for gasoline, whether it happens all at once or in increments, automatically cancels out the reduction in price from removing the fuel tax.

My takeaways from all of this are these, and if I’m misreading things, Senator Lacson is welcome to clarify: First, it is refreshing that at least someone in the legislature is addressing practicalities, rather than taking up precious page space with random noises coming out from their word-holes. Second, I think there is some palpable frustration on Senator Lacson’s part that the government, despite its rhetoric, is sleepwalking deeper into a real economic emergency; because third, the fuel price crisis, with all of its negative knock-on effects, is going to continue for quite some time. I hope those responsible for doing something about it are listening.