Economic managers have floated several interventions to cushion the domestic economy from mounting tensions in the Middle East, but economists are urging the government to prioritize safeguarding jobs, ramping up support for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), and stabilizing fuel prices.

“We have several proposed interventions. They will be discussed with the President soon,” Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s chief economic manager, told Manila Bulletin on Monday, March 2.

State-run policy think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) cited job protection, preserving consumer and business confidence, and taming second-round price swings as the most urgent measures the government should put in place.

PIDS senior research fellow John Paolo Rivera said the government should prioritize establishing an OFW contingency plan, such as rapid assistance through the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), and embassies.

Rivera added that the government should focus on job-matching and reintegration programs, as well as providing liquidity support to affected households to prevent a slowdown in demand fueled by weaker remittances.

Reyes Tacandong & Co. senior adviser Jonathan Ravelas shared a similar position. “We need to immediately protect OFWs through fast reintegration and temporary income support,” Ravelas said.

SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) group economist Robert Dan Roces and China Banking Corp. (Chinabank) chief economist Domini Velasquez echoed sentiments focused on protecting vulnerable labor segments.

Roces said efforts should include “tracking how quickly displaced workers are redeployed or reintegrated so that remittance flows and domestic unemployment remain stable.”

Velasquez, meanwhile, said the government may look at offering Social Security System (SSS)- or pension-backed loans to help overseas workers start small businesses upon their return.

Ravelas explained that efforts to shield employment and purchasing power should be carried out alongside preserving policy buffers in case this shock turns into a prolonged economic threat. The focus, he said, should be on containing inflation through targeted aid rather than broad tax cuts that could strain the national budget.

On prices, Roces said the government should focus on limiting the pass-through from international crude oil to domestic pump prices. This, he said, will help keep a lid on transport costs and maintain an ample fuel supply.

Velasquez and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort both noted that the government has already set aside a portion of the ₱6.793-trillion 2026 national budget for fuel subsidy provisions, which Velasquez believes could be rolled out if oil prices average $80 per barrel for at least a month. “A full and timely rollout would help cushion the impact on the most vulnerable sectors,” she said.

Meanwhile, Velasquez opposed blanket tax suspensions, saying such a measure would mainly benefit high-income households that consume more fuel while also reducing government revenues.

Ultimately, economists stressed the need to neutralize sharp foreign exchange (forex) fluctuations. This would form part of safeguarding forex liquidity, which could also be achieved through narrow interbank bid-ask spreads, steady remittance inflows, and comfortable forex buffers.

“[We need to] keep the peso stable by allowing the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to smooth excessive volatility,” Ravelas said.