The Philippine government is considering selling a 40 per cent stake in Petron Corp, the country's biggest petrol refiner, and shares in PNOC Exploration Corp to raise additional money for subsidies to help poor households cope with soaring food and energy prices, the country's financial secretary said yesterday.

Margarito Teves, the finance secretary, said: "We are looking into the possibility of selling these assets should we need more resources to help the poor cope with rising oil and food prices."