File photo MANILA - The Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies Association (IPPCA) supports the establishment of a government-owned strategic petroleum reserve as one of the long term solutions to address the volatile oil prices in the global market. IPPCA chair Fernando Martinez said in a Senate Energy Committee hearing Monday the stockpiling facility should be for crude as it is safer to store this than diesel and gasoline. "It's strategic to store crude because you don't need to dispose (of) it immediately unlike diesel or gasoline," Martinez said, adding that diesel and gasoline have shelf life. He said the industry has proposed to the government to convert land in Batangas and Bataan for strategic reserve facilities as both provinces have ports. Martinez also reiterated a proposal for the central bank to put the country's reserves not only in dollars or gold but also in "black gold". IPPCA has opposed the proposal of increasing the monthly inven