THE recent surge in global oil prices has triggered a serious energy crisis around the world. In response, the Philippines has declared a state of national energy emergency — the only country that took this step.

This situation brings to mind an earlier oil crisis. In 1973, members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, led by Saudi Arabia, cut back oil production because of the war between Egypt and Syria on one hand, and Israel on the other. Oil prices rose sharply. At that time, then-president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. used government funds to buy Esso, a local subsidiary of Standard Oil, now known as ExxonMobil. This led to the creation of the Philippine National Oil Corp. (PNOC). With the PNOC in place, the government was able to stabilize domestic oil prices. This action by Marcos helped protect the entire country from the worst effects of the global shortage.