The Philippine government is studying a plan to raise the mandatory bioethanol content in gasoline to 15%, a move the Department of Energy (DoE) says could help temper pump prices and expand domestic production.

Energy Undersecretary Alessandro O. Sales said the National Biofuels Board is reviewing an increase in the blend to E15 — gasoline containing 15% bioethanol by volume — from the current E10, a 10% blend.

“It could help temper gasoline prices,” Mr. Sales told reporters last week.

The review comes against a backdrop of rising pump prices: since the start of the year, domestic fuel price adjustments have resulted in net increases of P73.15 per liter for gasoline, P61.82 for diesel, and P63.76 for kerosene — more than tripling their full-year net increases recorded in 2025 as a result of the Middle East war.

Bioethanol is a byproduct of sugarcane or corn used for mixing with gasoline, while biodiesel incorporates vegetable oil, animal fat, or used cooking oil into diesel.

Under Republic Act No. 9367, also known as the Biofuels Act of 2006, liquid fuels sold in the Philippines must contain locally sourced biofuel components, meaning blend ratios apply to every liter of fuel sold nationwide. Since February 2009, oil firms have been required to offer a 2% biodiesel blend in all diesel fuel sold and distributed in the country. Oil companies were also required to blend at least 5% bioethanol into gasoline, a mandate that was raised to 10% in 2011.

In 2024, the government raised the mandatory coco methyl ester blend in diesel sold nationwide to 3% by volume, from 2% previously. The blend was initially scheduled to rise to 4% by October 2025 and 5% by October 2026, but its implementation has been suspended due to the high cost of coconut oil — an example of how feedstock costs have already prompted the government to pause scheduled blend increases.

Meanwhile, oil companies may voluntarily offer gasoline containing up to 20% bioethanol by volume, known as E20.

Mr. Sales said the government seeks to increase the domestic supply of bioethanol by expanding the range of feedstocks. “However, one thing about bioethanol is that we allow imports when domestic supply is insufficient,” he said. “With the introduction of corn as a feedstock, local supply could potentially increase because we would have more raw materials for production, including sugarcane, molasses and corn.”

While allowing corn as a feedstock could help expand production, he said it may not immediately close the supply gap. Cheaper imported bioethanol could help temper pump prices by lowering the cost of the gasoline blend, Mr. Sales added. The open question now is how much of any additional ethanol supply would come from domestic sugarcane, molasses and corn — and how much from imports.

— Sheldeen Joy Talavera, BusinessWorld

Source: BusinessWorld