Motorists who have been turned away from gas stations with no gas, and those who have been left with no choice but to stock whatever was available (suspiciously, the more expensive Shell V-Power) will be glad to know that the past few days were all just a bad dream.

It turns out there was no fuel shortage after all.A Shell official yesterday told senators that they have 15 days worth of finished product, and 15 days worth of crude in stock. Petron has even more: fuel for 22 days, and crude good for 33.

So, which asshole started the rumor that we would run out of fuel in a matter of days?

That would be me.

It seems the Energy Secretary was talking about–and only about–the fuel that Total Petroleum Corp. had in stock.

With the executive order mandating price caps on fuel already rescinded, only one thing is clear: the government blinked, and not without the help of the Honorable Angelo Reyes.

The clear winner here is the Big 3, with Petron gaining the most. Many smaller gas stations had to shut down, and their customers filled up at Petron stations instead.  Since the government owns 40% of it through the Philippine National Oil Company, I guess it’s a bit of a win for us as well. So, thanks, Secretary Reyes.