Philippines sets talks with Iran on oil ships’ passage

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is set to hold talks with Iran to ensure the safe passage of Philippine-bound oil ships through the Strait of Hormuz, now effectively under Tehran’s control.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro will meet with Iranian Ambassador Yousef Esmaeil Zadeh to discuss the issue as part of efforts to ensure the Philippines’ energy security in the face of soaring fuel prices driven by the raging war in the Middle East. The US-Israel attack on Iran triggered the war.

Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said President Marcos gave Lazaro the order to talk with Tehran, during a meeting of the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food and Transport (UPLIFT) committee last Monday.

“Yesterday, the UPLIFT had a meeting and the President gave that order to Secretary Tess Lazaro, and according to Secretary Tess Lazaro of DFA, she will talk to the ambassador of Iran, most probably tomorrow. If not tomorrow, by next week,” Castro said at a press briefing yesterday.

About 3,000 vessels pass through the Strait of Hormuz each month, but the number has plummeted because of Iran’s threat to attack ships transiting through the maritime channel.

Iran has effectively closed the strait since coming under attack from the US and Israel. According to a BBC report, 20 commercial ships have been attacked off the Iranian coast since the war started, although not all incidents took place in the direct vicinity of the strait.

Earlier this week, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian called on the Marcos administration to hold high-level discussions with Iran to secure the safe passage of oil vessels bound for the Philippines.

At a recent press briefing, Castro said the DFA and the energy department were working to secure oil supply from alternative sources, including Canada, the US, South America and Russia. A shipment of more than 700,000 barrels of Russian crude oil has arrived in the Philippines.

Last Friday, Marcos declared the country has sufficient crude oil supply until the end of June.

China oil exports to Philippines continue

The Chinese embassy, meanwhile, has assured Energy Secretary Sharon Garin that China has no ban on oil export to the Philippines.

Garin, who recently met with Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan, said Beijing has assured her that there is no ban on fuel exports from private refineries.

“In fact, as arranged, we constantly update them (Chinese embassy) on any orders that are being delivered or honored, as well as orders that might be problematic,” Garin told a press conference yesterday.

She also noted that the Chinese embassy continuously monitors the situation for any problems with suppliers in China, highlighting the ongoing cooperation between the two countries.

China earlier asked its largest oil refiners to halt new contracts for gasoline and diesel exports, citing disrupted crude shipments from the Middle East.

The DOE, however, clarified that the directive does not apply to private Chinese refineries.

“What they conserve were the (stocks from) state-owned refining companies in China. So our importation from these private refining companies continues,” said Rino Abad, director of the DOE’s Oil Industry Management Bureau.

Abad added that the Philippines has received numerous deliveries from China over the past two weeks.

The Philippines sourced about 28 percent of its diesel imports from China in the first nine months of 2025, latest DOE data showed.

During the same period, around six percent of Manila’s total gasoline imports came from Beijing.

Meanwhile, in the aftermath of a gas-and-run incident in Quezon City, Philippine National Police chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. has ordered police units to beef up  their presence at fuel stations and other commercial establishments.

Nartatez said motorists should remain law-abiding citizens despite economic pressures.

“We urge everyone to let discipline and respect prevail. Otherwise, we will make sure that you would be held accountable,” he said in a statement.

On Monday, a transport network vehicle service driver known only as Jefferson surrendered to the La Loma police station after he was identified as the motorist who fled from a gas station without paying the over P5,000 fuel bill.

Power charges

Amid rising fuel prices and precarious supply, consumers may have to deal with P44.2 billion in additional power charges next year to cover the increased subsidy for the government’s missionary electrification program.

State-run National Power Corp. (Napocor) is proposing the amount for the basic universal charge for missionary electrification (UCME), a non-bypassable fee imposed on all on-grid consumers to power off-grid and remote areas.

In a filing with the Energy Regulatory Commission, Napocor is seeking a UCME rate of P0.4405 per kilowatt-hour for 2027, a 65-percent jump from the current rate of P0.2662 per kWh.

With surging fuel prices, Napocor said the existing rate “cannot sustain” its operations, subsidies for new power providers and microgrid operators and cash incentives for off-grid renewable energy developers.

“The proposal, when approved, will allow Napocor to deliver its commitment to provide reliable and sufficient power supply and efficient operation of its plants and its associated power delivery systems consistent with the specific programs in the missionary areas that Napocor is currently serving,” it said.

Napocor’s operations rely heavily on fossil fuels, as most of its nearly 300 small power utilities group plants are powered by diesel generators.

These facilities are located in areas and communities not connected to the main grid.

Over a month since the US-Israel war with Iran erupted, diesel surged for the fourth straight week, with prices rising by as much as P12.90 per liter yesterday.

The latest adjustment has pushed the cost of regular diesel in Metro Manila above P140 per liter and premium diesel beyond P150 per liter. — Brix Lelis, Mark Ernest Villeza