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Sen. Erwin Tulfo opened a Senate Energy Committee inquiry into a two-decade-old power law, and Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian joined in criticizing the Energy Regulatory Commission for failing to audit a rate spike that has pushed Philippine electricity prices above Singapore's.
The Visayas grid was placed under a five-hour yellow alert on June 10 as 35 power plants remained unavailable, with the wholesale electricity spot price having already surged 81.4% in May to ₱10.20 per kWh — and the June 8 Mindanao earthquake taking two more large coal plants offline, raising the risk of prices hitting ₱9/kWh across both grids.
Government economists now project the debt-to-GDP ratio will linger in the 60–63% range through 2026 — the worst sustained level in two decades — as Middle East war-driven oil shocks force fresh emergency borrowings on top of a fiscal position already strained by collapsing infrastructure spending and slowing growth.
On March 23, Palace spokesperson Claire Castro told the public the Philippines was facing only a "price disruption," not a crisis. Twenty-four hours later, President Marcos signed Executive Order 110 declaring a State of National Energy Emergency. No correction was issued.
The Philippine Department of Energy held a meeting with the Chinese Embassy in Manila amid the ongoing national energy crisis, as the Philippines and China signal openness to resuming joint oil and gas exploration talks in the South China Sea. Critics raise concerns over sovereignty and constitutional limits on any potential deal.
Hundreds of motorcycle riders lined up at a Shell gas station in Barangay San Miguel, Cordova, Cebu on March 28 for free gasoline offered by the local government under Mayor Cesar Suan, as rising fuel prices continue to burden ordinary Filipinos amid the national energy crisis.
Two separate fuel shipments have arrived in the Philippines amid the national energy emergency — one privately procured by Petron Corp. (700,000 barrels of Russian crude oil), and another government-procured diesel shipment of 142,000 barrels facilitated by PNOC. The declaration of emergency through EO 110 came only after fuel prices had already surpassed ₱90 per liter.
As the worst energy crisis in a decade batters Filipino households, the President's response has been palengke visits and reassurances — while neighboring Asian leaders are securing concrete deals and enacting real relief.
