Philippines mulls over shorter work week, less air-con to save energy

MANILA – The Philippines is looking at ways to save on energy as tensions in the Middle East push global fuel costs higher, with the government suggesting people use their air-conditioners less and shy away from non-essential travel.

The South-east Asian nation imports nearly all of its oil requirements, and

the war in Iran

could spur inflation that already hit a 13-month high in February.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s administration this week ordered government offices to set their air-cons to no lower than 24 deg C and adopt flexible work arrangements to help conserve fuel.

Mr Marcos, who plans to seek emergency authority from Congress to slash taxes on petroleum products, is also entertaining the idea of a four-day work week.

Vice-President Sara Duterte, meanwhile, has urged her supporters to refrain from organising motorcades or vehicle caravans when they protest against her political rival, Mr Marcos.

The mayor of Manila directed the city government to cut fuel consumption by shifting meetings online, switching power off by 5pm and banning non-essential travel.

The Philippines is widely seen by economists as one of the most vulnerable nations in the Asia-Pacific region to inflation and growth risks spurred by the Middle East conflict.

The archipelago “tends to see a stronger inflation hit because retail fuel prices are more market-driven and subsidies are limited”, Ms Deepali Bhargava, regional head of research at ING Bank NV, said.

Some government agencies have said they will provide fuel subsidies to fisherfolk, farmers and public transport drivers.

There is also an app citizens can use to lock in energy prices ahead of time.

Mr Tim Gonzales, a 30-year-old online marketer who has a sport utility vehicle for his family of four, said he used it to buy around 300 litres of diesel.

“I can buy litres of virtual fuel in advance and lock in the current price,” he said.

Mr Gonzales has been using the app since 2022 and has created a Facebook community to help its more than 16,000 members fight elevated prices.

“Those litres will sustain us for a couple of months.”

Others are making do in different ways.

Ms Rowena Brucal manages a school cafeteria in the Makati financial district. It goes through about two tanks of liquefied petroleum gas in four days. While she cannot do anything about rising prices, she has started to save money by reducing the amount of food in each serving.

“We also turn the lights off when there are no customers because cutting consumption is the way to go,” she said.

On the proposed four-day work week, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry said it could significantly affect the manufacturing industry, a key pillar of the economy.

“We have been operating on limited resources and further reducing the number of work days could affect our commitments,” Mr Perry Ferrer, president of the chamber, said. BLOOMBERG