Palace: Libya crisis won’t affect PHL’s oil supply, economy

Malacañang on Sunday allayed fears that the worsening political crisis in Libya may have negative effects on the country’s economy and energy supply. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte, quoting the Department of Energy (DOE), said the conflict in Libya will not have an effect on the country’s oil supply as of now. “Let me stress, walang nakikitang effect ngayon sa magiging stability ng supply ng petrolyo," she told government-run dzRB radio in an interview Sunday. She added that DOE, led by Energy chief Jose Rene Almendras, has already prepared contingency measures in case there will be an oil shortage. Political unrest has rocked Libya over the past few weeks, after opposition groups called for an end to Muammar Gaddafi’s more than four decades of rule in the African country. Gaddafi vowed to hold on to his post and “crush any enemy" even as protesters close in on him. Libya is Africa’s fourth largest crude producer, with an average daily production of 1.8 million barrels. No impact on RP economy In the radio interview, Valte also downplayed the effect of the political turmoil in Libya to the Philippine economy. She said that while the political crisis will have direct impact on families of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) working in the African country, it will not have any huge effect on the country’s economy. “Sa remittances, certainly, it will have an impact lalo sa pamilyang umaasa roon, (pero) in general, wala naman tayong nakikitang malaking epekto sa remittances natin dahil hindi naman sa Libya naka-concentrate ang ating mga OFW," she said in the same interview. As of Saturday night, 204 of the 26,000 Filipinos in Libya have already been taken out of the violence-torn North African country, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). More than a hundred OFWs have already been repatriated from Libya as of Saturday, the DFA said. Emergency powers? Valte, meanwhile, declined to comment on proposals from some lawmakers to give President Benigno Aquino III economic emergency powers should the conflict in Libya escalate and adversely affect the country’s economy. “We will have to see. Hindi pa natin alam kung ano ang pinapanukalang emergency powers. We have to defer comment until may panukalang lumabas," she said. Western Samar Rep. Mel Senen Sarmiento and Ang Kasangga party-list Rep. Teodorico Haresco earlier said that Congress should be prepared to grant Aquino emergency powers in the face of growing conflicts in Arab countries, where thousands of OFWs are currently employed. Valte said that the priority of the Aquino administration is the repatriation of more Filipinos from Libya, and giving new jobs to these “displaced" OFWs. “At this point, we’re concentrating on repatriation efforts. We will have to see at the end of this kung ilan ang nadi-displace when it comes to employment dahil alam naman natin na majority of these Filipinos were employed by multinational companies," she said. — AC/KBK, GMA News