Govt pushed to maximize West Philippine Sea for fuel self-sufficiency

An advocacy group is urging the government to consider all available fuel sources to achieve fuel self-sufficiency.

In a report by the Manila Times, Pinoy Aksyon for Governance and the Environment convenor BenCyrus Ellorin said that economies that depend heavily on oil production, like the Philippines, are vulnerable to fluctuations in the global fuel supply chain. 

The group further added that the country could pull through self-sufficiency in fuel as the Philippines had extensive renewable energy (RE) sources as well as natural gas from areas like the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

With the government plan to have around 35% to 60% renewable energy to fossil fuel ratio by 2040, the advocacy group opined that the Philippines needed to secure the fuel resources inside its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) for fuel self-sufficiency.

Additionally, the group believes that the Philippines needed to assemble what the country owns despite the urging pressure from China, which also claimed significant areas in the country’s EEZ in the WPS.

Aside from the fuel reserves, the country could also lean into RE sources such as wind, solar, tidal, hydro, and biomass power as these are not affected by the geopolitics happening at the WPS.