President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. on Thursday met with the officials of the Department of Energy (DOE) to address the continued oil price hikes.
“Sa pandaigdigang krisis ng pagtaas ng presyo ng langis, isa sa magiging mahalagang kasama natin sa pagtugon ay ang Kagawaran ng Enerhiya. Masusing tinalakay ang ating mga susunod na hakbang at magiging direksyon ng departamento [In the global fuel price hike crisis, one of the key agencies that will help address the issue is the Department of Energy. We thoroughly discussed our next steps and the direction the department is headed to],” Marcos said in a Facebook post.
Video snippets of Marcos’ meeting with the DOE officials were posted on the official Facebook page of Radio Television Malacanang (RTVM).
Photos of the meeting were also uploaded on the official Facebook page of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO).
Officials who joined the meeting are Executive Secretary Victor Rodriguez, Office of the Special Assistant to the President Secretary Antonio Lagdameo, Jr., Presidential Management Staff (PMS) Secretary Maria Zenaida Angping, and DOE Undersecretaries Donato Marcos and Roberto Uy.
The meeting came two days after oil companies implemented a big-time price rollback for diesel and kerosene. However, gasoline prices remained stagnant.
In June, the DOE announced its call for the 19th Congress to prioritize the review of the oil price deregulation law as the agency seeks to regain the authority to intervene when there is a dramatic increase in the prices of petroleum products.
Marcos earlier unveiled his plan to expand the coverage of the government’s fuel subsidy program through the inclusion of tricycle drivers among beneficiaries.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) earlier announced that over 600,000 tricycle drivers will be receiving fuel subsidies.
Meanwhile, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) began releasing fuel subsidies for other public transport operators and drivers in March this year.
Photo Credit: Facebook/BongbongMarcos