Fuel subsidy seen to address looming oil prices hike due to Israel-Iran tension
Recognizing that the ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran would eventually hit oil prices, President Marcos said fuel subsidies will be given to those who will be heavily affected.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. leads the inspection of the aftermath of the fire in San Francisco High School in Quezon City on June 18, 2025. (Photo courtesy of PCO)
The government, Marcos said, will replicate what it did during the Covid-19 pandemic, where fuel subsidies were given to those heavily affected, especially the public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers.
He said they will have to do the same response again as he is already expecting that oil prices will go up due to the looming closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
“Well, again, we are starting already with the assumption that the oil prices will in fact go up and I cannot see how it will not. Because the Strait of Hormuz will then be blocked if it escalates. The oil cannot come out of its sources. So the prices will certainly be affected,” Marcos said on Wednesday, June 18.
“So the subsidies that we have always given, fuel subsidies, that we gave to, if you remember during the pandemic, lalong-lalong na yung mga napapasada, yung mga may hanapbuhay naman sila, binigyan nating fuel subsidies (especially the PUVs, those who have livelihood, we gave them fuel subsidies),” he added.
“Now we will have to do the same for those who are severely affected, stakeholders, by any instability in the price of oil. Yes, it's a serious problem,” Marcos further said.
The President has earlier instructed the Department of Energy (DOE) to closely monitor the situation in the Middle East in order to provide the necessary government intervention if the situation worsens and affects the fuel industry.