THE Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry urged leaders from the member-nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to take immediate action in addressing energy, water and food security concerns across the region amid the war in the Middle East.
“We need to look at our energy, water, and food security now,” PCCI President Perry Ferrer said in a statement on Tuesday.
Ferrer also underscored the importance of Asean member-states tackling the impact of the war and coming up with a concrete agreement to safeguard supply chains and maintain economic stability, and ensuring support to micro, small, medium enterprises (MSMEs) while protecting their own people.
“Asean’s young and dynamic population with over 700 million population combined with its MSMEs driven economy must be secured and protected from the rising fuel costs driven by the war in the Middle East,” he said.
The PCCI chief stressed that the country is sourcing coal from Indonesia that feeds the baseload of power plants and refined fuel from Singapore, Malaysia, and South Korea.
Ferrer said that the Philippines should also reach out bilaterally to its trading partners to ensure a consistent supply of fuel.
“As a regional block, we should be united in addressing the crisis. There is a now that we have to deal with,” Ferrer added.
The business group said that they are working with the government to come up with strategies that would mitigate the impact of fuel price hikes.
“We are working with the government on where they can subsidize to absorb fuel increases. It’s the fuel that triggers all these. It’s a chain reaction. With the rising fuel cost, the logistics cost also increases,” Ferrer said.
Earlier this month, the PCCI urged the Congress to grant President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. emergency powers to cushion the impact of fuel price hikes on Filipino households and businesses.
On Friday, the Asean Economic Ministers (AEM) issued a joint statement expressing commitment to keep the Southeast Asian market open to stabilize the region’s economy amid the global disruption caused by the Middle East war.
“We will continue to work closely with industry stakeholders and external and development partners to strengthen and sustain business and investors’ confidence in Asean, while further reinforcing regional supply chains through the implementation of relevant and binding Asean agreements,” the ministers said.
