Arroyo calls for steps to save energy

President Gloria Arroyo has called for a 40-day oil supply reserve instead of the usual 12 days to avoid an oil crisis in the Philippines if the U.S. attacks Iraq.

After convening the National Security Council Arroyo also called for energy-saving measures saying that this should be done with or without an oil crisis.

"We are exploring ways and means to increase our in-country inventory of fuel, including the activation and utilisation of additional storage facilities," Arroyo noted. "We are looking at non-traditional supplemental sources of oil to augment our supply, and we are seeking the cooperation of the transport sector in controlling fare rates."

Energy Secretary, Vicente Perez, said oil firms operating in the country have promised to maintain a higher inventory.

Meanwhile, Lt. Gen. Roy Cimatu, head of the Middle East Crisis Preparedness Team, said in a report sent to the presidential palace that the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) has assured the Philippines of a continued oil supply in the event of hostilities breaking out between the United States and Iraq.

Cimatu said Aramco officials gave this assurance during their talks last Monday.

The Philippines gets 32 per cent of its oil requirements from Saudi Arabia. Other countries supplying oil to the Philippines are Iran, the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia.

The Philippines has been building up its oil buffer stocks as tension in the Middle East grows by the day. The Philippines has gradually cut down its dependence on oil for its power needs.

From a high of 60 per cent 10 years ago, it is now 11.75 per cent dependent on imported oil. With the opening of the Malampaya oil field in Palawan, south-western Philippines, the country has further cut down on the import of gas.

Cimatu is in Saudi Arabia to make sure that there is a continuous supply of oil to the Philippines even if there is war. Cimatu leaves for Kuwait today to visit Filipino workers.

Meanwhile, National Security Council head, Roilo Golez, said the government is seeking the cooperation of the transport sector in controlling fare rates. Noting a report from Cimatu, Golez said there was a general consensus that the U.S. will not attack Iraq in October and November.
Cimatu visit

"However, if the conflict arises, it is expected that the war is going to be very swift because of the use of high technology and because of the expected use of overwhelming force by the United States," Golez noted.

The situation of the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) is not as serious as in 1991 because there are only about 220 Filipinos living in and around Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, Golez explained.
"It is very unlikely that the conflict will spread to neighbouring countries like Saudi Arabia where we have close to a million Filipinos," Golez said.

Cimatu visited the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, near the border with Iraq, where thousands of OFWs might be affected in case of a full blown war in Iraq.

"We will relocate our countrymen in the event of war," noted Cimatu saying that a contingency plan is well in place.

Earlier, before the NSC meeting, Arroyo said that if families of OFWs insist on their loved ones returning home and if the workers agree, "then they will be brought back here". She noted that this will be done with the help of the government.

About 63,000 of the 1.3 million OFWs in the Middle East will be affected in case the U.S. attacks Iraq.