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Philippines rejects call for government takeover of oil industry to cap soaring fuel prices
'We don't want to get into that discussion,' President Marcos said when asked if he would consider a temporary takeover in line with his declaration of state of national energy emergency
- PUBLISHED: Fri 27 Mar 2026, 4:02 PM UPDATED: Fri 27 Mar 2026, 6:07 PM
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The Philippine government refused demands to operate oil companies anew in response to runaway fuel prices and fears of dwindling supply because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
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"We don't want to get into that discussion," was the response by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. when asked if his administration would temporarily take over the Philippine oil industry to offset the oil price shocks, in line with his declaration of state of national energy emergency on Wednesday.
Another senior official, Department of Energy secretary Sharon Garin admitted the government does not have the money nor does it have plans to buy back the country’s leading oil company, Petron Corporation, which used to be government-owned and operated under the Philippine National Oil Corporation before its privatisation in February 1994.
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“Government does not have that capacity because we have 14,000 oil and gas stations and several oil companies, and this business has already been relinquished by the government,” she told a radio interview.
She said her agency instead will roll out more directives to oil companies, but taking over is “not a good idea right now.”
Protect consumers first
Progressive groups and legislators had previously urged the government to buy back Petron Corporation to protect consumers from oil price hikes. It is now owned by Philippine giant San Miguel Corporation (SMC) that expanded its operations to over 2,400 retail stations nationwide and another 560 to 800 stations in Malaysia.
It also operates the country’s sole remaining oil refinery.
SMC president and CEO Ramon Ang again expressed willingness to sell the company back to the government “if it can prove it is better at running it.”
Ang made the same offer at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 but the government also rejected the proposal.
Petron Corporation achieved a record-high consolidated net income of P15.6 billion (Dh975 million) in 2025.
