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March 28, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Tycoon Ramon Ang is still open to the government taking over Petron Corp. again if it believes it can run the company better as the country battles an energy emergency due to the Iran crisis.

“If the government wants to buy Petron from me, and if they think they can operate it better, then so be it,” Ang, president and CEO of Petron, told reporters yesterday.

Ang, who first made the offer to Congress in 2021, said Petron remains open, stressing that the focus is on what is best for the country.

“If the government believes that Petron under its ownership will better serve the Filipino people, especially in times like these, we are ready to sit down and make it happen,” Ang said in a separate statement. 

The sale could be carried out in tranches at fair market value, he noted.

The government previously owned Petron through Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC), which acquired Esso Philippines – Petron’s old name – during the first global oil crisis in 1973. 

In 1994, PNOC signed a stock purchase agreement with Aramco, giving the Saudi oil giant 40 percent ownership in Petron.

Aramco sold its stake in Petron to London-based investment fund manager Ashmore Group for $550 million in 2008.

Ang’s San Miguel Corp. eventually entered into an option agreement with Ashmore to take over the country’s largest oil company. SMC started managing Petron in 2009. 

“We have never treated Petron as simply a profit center. We lost over P11 billion in 2020,” Ang said.

Last year, the company delivered all-time-high earnings of P15.6 billion, marking its strongest financial results to date as it maintains dominance in the domestic market.

Petron currently operates the country’s only remaining refinery in Bataan.

“We invested $2 billion to upgrade the Bataan refinery and kept it running even when it would have been easier to just import finished fuel, the way other oil companies chose to do,” Ang said.