GOVT DECLARES STATE OF ENERGY EMERGENCY

CITING the imminent threat of the armed conflict in the Middle East to the country's oil supply, President Ferdinand Marcos declared a state of national energy emergency on Tuesday.

- SAMUEL P. MEDENILLA

Marcos issued Executive Order (EO) 110 which will allow the Department of Energy (DOE) and other government agencies to implement the necessary measures to mitigate the economic impact of the global energy supply disruption caused by the war in the Middle East, which has entered its third week.

The state of national emergency will remain in force and in effect for one year from the effectivity of EO 110 unless otherwise extended or lifted by the President.

The President said in the EO that he made the declaration upon the recommendation of the Energy Secretary who called for urgent measures to ensure the stability and adequacy of the country's energy supply to prevent a "critical low energy supply."

It also created the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT) Committee to "ensure the stability of domestic energy supply, the uninterrupted delivery of essential services, the continuity of economic activity, and the welfare of the citizens" amid the ongoing Middle East crisis.