Will the Philippines hit the brakes on a deregulated oil industry amid fuel pain?

[MANILA] The Philippine government is weighing changes to its landmark oil deregulation law to blunt future Middle East-driven price shocks, as analysts warned that the country is among South-east Asia’s most exposed due to its highly deregulated fuel market.

Global economic fallout from the US-Israel war on Iran has revived talks in the Philippines around the 1998 Oil Deregulation Act and its impact on domestic pump prices and overall inflation. 

With the Philippines importing more than 90 per cent of its oil supply from the Middle East, it is exposed to supply chain disruptions and currency fluctuations.