Senator Win Gatchalian on Thursday said he is open to reviewing the Oil Deregulation Law, but suggested the government should also "explore new domestic oil and gas reserves" as the country suffers from fuel price hikes due to its dependence on imported oil.
"I'm open to reviewing the Oil Deregulation Law to improve transparency among industry players and assess the benefits to our consumers. Considering that this is a 24-year-old law, the review can be helpful in optimizing the oil industry," he said in a statement.
Gatchalian, who is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, made the remarks after President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday urged Congress to open a review on the Oil Deregulation Law.
Malacañang said that the government should be granted authority to intervene in cases of prolonged fuel price hikes.
Gatchalian, however, also pointed out that the country will remain vulnerable to global oil shocks if it continues importing oil.
"A fundamental problem on why we are experiencing high prices of oil is because of our over dependence on improved oil. We import almost 100% of our oil requirements," said the senator in a statement.
"As long as we import oil, we will be susceptible to global oil shocks that we have absolutely no control of," he added.
According to Gatchalian, the government should start looking for oil inside the country and begin transitioning to renewable energy.
"As a way forward, we need to explore new domestic oil and gas reserves, transition to renewable energy as well as electric vehicles in the medium to long-term," he said.
