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MEDIA RELEASE
15 September 2026
Secretary Garin Highlights Consumer Welfare, Energy Security and Resilience at APEC Ministerial Meeting
Energy Secretary Sharon S. Garin called for stronger action to protect households and livelihoods from energy disruptions while strengthening domestic supply and regional cooperation at the 16th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Energy Ministerial Meeting (APEC EMM16) on 10–11 September 2026.
Secretary Garin, who was attending her first APEC Energy Ministerial Meeting since assuming office, placed the welfare of households and workers at the center of the Philippines’ energy security agenda, citing the impact of rising fuel and electricity costs on public utility and jeepney drivers and on family spending for food, health and other essential needs.
To help shield consumers from immediate pressures, she outlined Philippine measures to augment petroleum supply, provide targeted assistance, manage fuel price adjustments, address hoarding and profiteering, and promote energy conservation. These efforts are complemented by a longer-term strategy to build a more diversified and secure energy mix through indigenous oil and gas resources, natural hydrogen exploration, geothermal development and accelerated renewable energy deployment.
“A resilient energy system draws strength from a diverse and secure supply,” Secretary Garin said, noting that the Philippines is also exploring nuclear energy as part of its future energy mix. She reiterated the country’s targets to increase renewable energy’s share in power generation to 35 percent by 2030, 50 percent by 2040, and more than 50 percent by 2050.
But a diversified energy mix must be supported by a power system capable of delivering electricity reliably and efficiently. Secretary Garin emphasized the need to accelerate priority transmission projects to strengthen reliability and resilience and enable the integration of renewable energy and storage.
She also stressed that energy security must ultimately be felt by communities, particularly geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas. Microgrids, distributed generation, energy storage and mobile energy systems, she said, can help expand access and maintain essential services for communities, schools, health centers and small enterprises.
Technology, meanwhile, can help make energy systems more responsive to changing needs. Secretary Garin highlighted the potential of artificial intelligence to improve demand and renewable energy forecasting, disturbance detection, predictive maintenance and energy infrastructure management. She called for smart-grid technologies, cybersecurity and workforce development to support responsible AI adoption, while noting that the growth of AI applications and data centers is also creating additional demand for electricity.
As energy systems and markets become increasingly interconnected, Secretary Garin called for stronger regional cooperation to prepare for external shocks. Drawing from the Philippines’ experience in managing global energy price volatility through supply diversification, targeted assistance, energy conservation and accelerated renewable energy deployment, she urged APEC economies to translate dialogue into practical cooperation.
“The Philippines sees particular value in deeper APEC cooperation on resilient supply chains and transportation routes, emergency preparedness, strategic stockpiling and petroleum reserves, and modernized infrastructure, including interconnection where feasible,” she said. “Stronger cooperation can help deliver affordable, reliable and sustainable energy while protecting economies and livelihoods from future disruptions.”
These priorities were reflected in the outcomes of EMM16, where ministers endorsed the Joint Ministerial Statement and three primary deliverables: the Vision and Proposed Actions on Universal Access to High-Quality Energy in APEC; the APEC Policy Recommendations on the Mutual Enhancement Between AI and Energy in the Asia-Pacific; and the APEC Non-binding Principles for Promoting Energy Security Synergy.
The Philippines also contributed to APEC’s work on energy resilience. Undersecretary Felix William B. Fuentebella, the Philippines’ Senior Official on Energy and head of the DOE delegation to the 72nd Energy Working Group Meeting, and co-chair of the APEC Energy Resiliency Task Force with China, shared the country’s experience in responding to fuel supply emergencies and restoring energy services following disasters.
Undersecretary Fuentebella presented the Philippines’ Energy Resilience Scorecard, with assessments completed for approximately 80 percent of distribution utilities, and proposed that APEC economies review the framework for possible adoption. He also encouraged regional collaboration on AI, data analytics, remote monitoring, energy storage and smart grids to strengthen preparedness and disaster response.
Secretary Garin likewise used the sidelines of EMM16 to advance cooperation with energy counterparts from Japan, Singapore, the United States, Canada and ASEAN Member States on supply diversification, petroleum stockpiling, nuclear and renewable energy, emerging technologies and priorities for the Philippines’ 2026 ASEAN chairship.
For the Philippines, the APEC engagement reinforces a broader energy security agenda: strengthening domestic supply, building resilient infrastructure and working with regional partners to ensure that energy remains reliable, affordable and accessible to Filipino households, businesses and communities. ###