MANILA: The Philippines’ energy ministry has told oil companies to sell a cheaper but dirtier type of diesel oil to motorists to fight inflation, backing away from a two-year-old regulation that banned its use to improve air quality.
The energy department’s plan would need clearance from the environment department, which implemented Manila’s switch to cleaner Euro-IV compliant fuels from Euro-II in January 2016, a rule that covered both oil companies and car manufacturers. The department was evaluating the plan, an official said.
The Department of Energy late on Thursday directed that Euro-II compliant automotive diesel oil should be provided as a fuel option for transport and industrial retail customers “for the purpose of reducing the impact of rising petroleum prices in the world market.”
“We’re studying it right now, giving consideration to their plan to cushion inflation. We’re also looking at the implications for emissions,” Environment and Natural Resources Undersecretary Jonas Leones told Reuters on Friday.
Euro-IV fuels have sulfur content of 50 parts per million (ppm) versus 500 ppm for Euro-II fuels.
Petron Corp, the Philippines’ top refiner, was studying the impact of the energy department’s plan which it only received on Thursday night, a spokesman for the company said. Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp, the local unit of Royal Dutch Shell PLC, was checking into the matter, a spokeswoman said.
Philippine annual inflation climbed to its highest in more than five years at 5.7 percent in July, prompting the central bank to raise interest rates for a third time this year on Thursday.
Along with the switch back to Euro II-fuels, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi also ordered the government’s Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corp. to import “low-priced petroleum products, particularly diesel, to mitigate the impact of volatile oil prices.”
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Philippines eyes shift back to cheaper, dirtier fuel to tame inflation
Philippines eyes shift back to cheaper, dirtier fuel to tame inflation
Pakistani Taliban kill six soldiers in checkpoint attack
- Pakistan has faced a surge in militant attacks along its border regions since the Taliban authorities retook control in Kabul in 2021
PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Pakistani Taliban militants stormed a security checkpoint in Pakistan’s northwestern border area with Afghanistan, killing six soldiers and wounding four others, a government official said Tuesday.
Pakistan has faced a surge in militant attacks along its border regions since the Taliban authorities retook control in Kabul in 2021.
It accuses Afghanistan of harboring the insurgents, a claim the Taliban government denies.
Late Monday, more than a dozen armed men attacked the checkpoint, leading to a heavy exchange of fire in Kurram, a tribal district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Six security personnel were martyred and four were injured, while two militants were also killed in the fighting,” the government official posted in Kurram, who was not authorized to speak to the media, told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
The Pakistani Taliban group, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has long been active in the region, and claimed responsibility for the attack.
Pakistan accuses the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan of sheltering TTP militants and allowing them to launch cross-border attacks from there — a charge Kabul denies.
The border between the two countries has been closed since the clashes in October, though Pakistan said last week it would allow UN aid supplies to pass to Afghanistan soon.
The attack comes days after an exchange of gunfire and shelling between Afghan and Pakistani forces at a major border crossing that killed four civilians and one soldier, according to Afghanistan.
Each side accused the other of starting the fighting.
Pakistan has faced a surge in militant attacks along its border regions since the Taliban authorities retook control in Kabul in 2021.
It accuses Afghanistan of harboring the insurgents, a claim the Taliban government denies.
Late Monday, more than a dozen armed men attacked the checkpoint, leading to a heavy exchange of fire in Kurram, a tribal district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Six security personnel were martyred and four were injured, while two militants were also killed in the fighting,” the government official posted in Kurram, who was not authorized to speak to the media, told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
The Pakistani Taliban group, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has long been active in the region, and claimed responsibility for the attack.
Pakistan accuses the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan of sheltering TTP militants and allowing them to launch cross-border attacks from there — a charge Kabul denies.
The border between the two countries has been closed since the clashes in October, though Pakistan said last week it would allow UN aid supplies to pass to Afghanistan soon.
The attack comes days after an exchange of gunfire and shelling between Afghan and Pakistani forces at a major border crossing that killed four civilians and one soldier, according to Afghanistan.
Each side accused the other of starting the fighting.
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