Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday, March 9 pushed for an emergency supplemental budget package that would be used by the government in response to the growing tension in the Middle East. 

Hontiveros made the call as local diesel and petroleum prices in the Philippines start to skyrocket this week, and motorists start to feel the impact of the Middle East war.

“If the disruption in global oil supply due to the war continues, the government must absorb the imminent economic shock from the escalating oil crisis,” Hontiveros said during a press briefing.

“That is why our call today is simple and not exhaustive: we must discuss, prepare and pass an emergency supplemental budget package, which my office estimates will amount to P52.8 billion,” she said.

The P52.8-billion would be divided as follows: P12-billion for transport subsidies, P2.9-billion for agricultural subsidies and at least P38-billion in emergency funds for the repatriation and reintegration of overseas Filipino workers (OFW).

Hontiveros said that based on her office’s working estimate, the additional burden on crude oil costs is bound to reach P12 billion if the average fuel price increase is more than P10 per liter within three (3) months.

“The transport subsidy that should be discussed now is P12 billion, because that is almost the projected cost. However, according to the Department of Energy (DOE) itself, there is no new fund in the 2026 budget for fuel subsidy,” she said.

“All that can be used is approximately P2.5 billion in continuing funds from 2025,” she pointed out.

But Hontiveros noted that a P2.5 billion does not answer a potentially P12-billion problem. 

“If we know that there will be billions of dollars in the gap, we cannot be so small in the budget,” she stressed.

The problem is the same in agriculture. She pointed out that the Department of Agriculture (DA) itself has announced that only P150-million in subsidy funding is available.

“But based on our estimate, if the high price of fertilizer persists, the additional cost exposure in the sector will be P2.8-billion. Again, the projected burden is at P2.8 billion, and all the sector has is P150 million. That is not protection. Far from it,” she lamented.

Hontiveros also noted that the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) itself is already asking for an additional budget since its P1.76-billion emergency fund is only enough for limited repatriation.

“If the situation worsens, large-scale evacuation and reintegration support will be needed. That should include income support and employment programs for returning OFWs, so the required funds will reach P38-billion,” she noted.

“Is there a source of funding for the supplemental budget? Yes. There is an estimated ₱70-billion from discontinued flood control projects in 2025. There is also a P2.5-billion fund for farm machineries of the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization that can be repurposed as an agri subsidy,” she said.

Also, the senator said cash can be freed up through a “phased obligation” of some large-scale infrastructure projects, so that the entire project cost will not be released immediately.