More than 80 percent of government agencies have complied with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to reduce energy consumption amid the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, the Department of Energy (DOE) said on Friday.

Energy Secretary Sharon Garin noted that over 500 government buildings inspected by the DOE “adjusted and are compliant” with the strict energy conservation measures.

“More than 80 percent are compliant with the directive of the President on energy efficiency. So, I think it’s more than 20 percent ang mase-save [that will be saved on energy],” Garin told Palace reporters.

She said the adoption of work-from-home scheme also helps government offices save at least 15 percent of total energy consumption.

“Because on our agency (DOE) alone, a one-day work from home is a 15 percent savings already,” she said.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is also implementing strict efficiency measures across national government agencies by reducing non-essential Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE).

The DBM on Thursday said the government will save up to PHP25.6 billion for the whole year following the implementation of a 20-percent reduction in non-essential government spending.

The move is part of the government’s efforts to create additional fiscal space to mitigate the impact of the Middle East crisis, which affects the global energy supply and prices.

‘Weekly’ Earth Hour

Garin also encouraged everyone to observe a “weekly” Earth Hour to promote responsible energy use.

She emphasized the importance of conserving energy, as the country continues to bear the brunt of the ongoing conflict in the Gulf region.

“Ang next po na major task namin is the energy conservation. Kahit po sabihin po natin na 50 days po iyong fuel natin pero kung nagho-hoard tayo at hindi pa rin tayo nagko-conserve, baka ma-shorten iyan kaya kailangan po ma-conserve po tayo (Our next major task is energy conservation. Even if we say that our fuel lasts for 50 days, but if we hoard and still don’t conserve, it might shorten that, so we need to conserve),” Garin said.

“Kung mas konti ang consumption natin, mas secure po ang bansa natin na sigurado tayo, itong 50 days na ‘to na stock natin, it will be enough for the whole country to move, ang economic activity natin continuous pa rin (If our consumption is less, our country will be more secure, we are sure that these 50 days of stock will be enough for the whole country to move, our economic activity will continue),” she added.

The DOE has secured over 165.7 million liters of oil for April.

Garin said the DOE’s target is to procure a total of 318 million liters from other oil suppliers from non-Middle East countries to augment the country’s supply. (PNA)