President Ferdinand Marcos last week declared a state of national energy emergency, saying “nothing was off the table” as the country of 116 million tries to navigate a global fuel crisis driven by the Middle East war.
Fuel prices have hit historic highs in the Philippines since treaty ally the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb 28, with Tehran effectively closing the vital Strait of Hormuz to traffic since then.
On Thursday, the Philippine department of foreign affairs said a “productive phone conversation” between foreign secretary Theresa Lazaro and her Iranian counterpart had opened the door to crucial oil shipments.
“The Iranian foreign minister assured the secretary that Iran will allow the safe, unhindered, and expeditious passage through the Strait of Hormuz of Philippine-flagged vessels, energy sources, and all Filipino seafarers,” the foreign affairs department said in a statement.
The Philippines imports the majority of its energy requirements from the Middle East, with the move ensuring “the steady delivery of critical oil and fertiliser supplies to the Philippines,” the ministry added.
Lazaro said in a post to X the call had reached a “positive understanding on the safety of our seafarers and the security of our energy supply.”
A day earlier, Lazaro met with Iran’s ambassador in Manila to seek the formal designation of the Philippines as a “non-hostile country”.
US President Donald Trump said Thursday that the US was “very close” to achieving its objectives while simultaneously threatening to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages” over the next two to three weeks.
In a report to the Philippine stock exchange this week, the operator of the country’s sole oil refinery said it had agreed to purchase Russian crude after seeing at least four million barrels in shipments cancelled since the start of the war.
Its purchase of around 2.5 million barrels of Russian crude had been made out of “extreme necessity”, the report from Petron Corp said.
AFP had previously reported that a tanker filled with Russian crude oil had arrived at the harbour servicing Petron’s refinery, a purchase unthinkable before the US eased sanctions tied to Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
The Philippines’ announcement of an accord with Iran comes just days after neighbouring Malaysia said its tankers would be permitted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without paying any toll to Tehran.