As of press time, Total Petroleum Corporation and Caltex Philippines, Inc. have already made formal announcements of their price hikes. Other players hinted on following suit.

On Thursday, the price of Dubai crude hit a new high at $54.67 per barrel, while spot diesel prices posted a very drastic climb to $75.08 per barrel, up by $16.08 per barrel just after two weeks at $59.00 per barrel average in mid-May.

Meanwhile, the price of unleaded gasoline softened a bit to $64.25 per barrel as against $65.58 per barrel last month. Even the Department of Energy (DoE) conceded that an adjustment would be inevitable because the prices are still on the high end.

While the brewing political tension may be temporarily camouflaging the oil price increase issue, energy officials said the search for policy solutions to ensure sustainable supply should continue.

The Independent Review Committee (IRC) of the Oil Deregulation Law has already stated that the government does not have any leeway at this point to help soften pump price movements aside from exercising "moral suasion" which ultimately will have to depend on the decision of the oil companies.

Even a subsidy scheme that may replicate the defunct Oil Price Stabilization (OPSF) is out of the question given the government’s worsening dilemma over swelling budget deficit.

At this stage, what appears disturbing to energy policymakers is ensuring that oil supply would continue in the coming years, prompting government to desperately push for measures that could increase the country’s energy self- sufficiency.

The government said getting ready with these measures will at least ensure that the country will not be buried deeper when a more serious threat oil of crisis materializes.

Aside from exploring and pursuing commercial development indigenous sources of energy, the DoE is also pushing for a policy on setting up strategic oil reserve for the country, either through a stockpiling option or strengthening the investment environment for new refineries.

Forecasts of the International Energy Agency (IEA) have indicated a possible plateau in world oil supply in the medium term, thus urging oil producing countries to evoke some level of transparency in their future plans as far as meeting future global demand for oil is concerned.

Being an oil importer, the Philippines is predicted to feel the brunt of the continuous price increases in world oil prices.