The government has prepared several scenarios and contingency measures that will cushion the impact of a possible escalation of the armed conflict between Israeli forces and the Palestinian militant Hamas, a National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) official said yesterday.
NEDA undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon, in a briefing after the sectoral meeting in Malacanang, said there is a general consensus the Israel-Hamas war will be contained but the government, like other nations and organizations, are preparing for any eventualities.
“In the event that it escalates, again, we are very clear in our priorities. Number one is to make sure that our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) there are safe, that we can bring them back safely,” she said in mixed English and Filipino.
Edillon said the second priority is implementing energy conservation measures, beginning with those in government, because fuel and energy prices are expected to go up.
She said construction of several energy power plants and transmission projects is ongoing with some set to be completed either this year or next year. She did not name the projects.
“The instruction is to make sure that they (power plants) will be on schedule. If that’s the case, then we can maintain the limited impact on us,” she added.
Additional capacity from new power plants and transmission projects could pull down energy costs.
This would offset any possible increase in fuel prices should the conflict in the Middle East escalate.
Israel, however, is not a traditional supplier of oil of the Philippines, but a prolonged conflict could affect global supply from other oil producing countries.