Several oil companies responded to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) call to temporarily suspend fuel price hikes this week in provinces severely affected by Super Typhoon Uwan (international name: Fung-Wong) and Typhoon Tino.
The DOE clarified that the price freeze applies only to typhoon-stricken areas, while other regions will still experience adjustments in gasoline and diesel prices.
The decision was reached after a meeting between the DOE’s Oil Industry Management Bureau and oil industry players, who agreed to defer increases in solidarity with communities struggling to recover.
Under the Price Act, mandated price freezes are limited to kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), but companies voluntarily extended the freeze to gasoline and diesel in calamity-hit provinces.
This move came after oil firms implemented their sixth consecutive weekly price increase on Monday, further burdening consumers already reeling from storm damage.
Super Typhoon Uwan left widespread devastation across Luzon and the Visayas, killing at least 18 people, displacing more than 1.4 million residents, and affecting over 2 million individuals nationwide.
Entire villages were submerged, major roads were blocked by landslides, and power outages crippled 155 towns and cities. In Tuguegarao City, floodwaters from the overflowing Cagayan River left the city underwater, while Catanduanes and Bicol provinces suffered storm surges and collapsed infrastructureSMNI News Channel+1.
Authorities declared a state of national calamity, enabling emergency measures such as fuel price freezes and relief operations to support recovery efforts.