Marcos orders creation of crisis committee

As the armed conflict in the Middle East entered its third week, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the creation of a new committee that will ensure that the country will not have a fuel shortage.

- BY SAMUEL P. MEDENILLA @sam_medenilla

In a press briefing at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City last Monday, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the chief executive issued the directive even before it was recently suggested by some groups.

"The President had already officially ordered the creation of a crisis committee, so let's just wait for the document [for its creation]. It's already being finalized," she said in Filipino.

One of the committee's functions is to find ways to prevent a disruption in the country's oil and fuel supply and other needs of the public amid the Middle East conflict.

Local pump prices soared after the United States and Israel attacked Iran. The tension in the region resulted in a disruption in the passage of ships carrying oil from the Middle East at the Strait of Hormuz.

Castro declined to give additional details about the name and members of the committee until its formation is finalized.

Price surges