The government is maintaining its ₱360 billion excise tax target for this year, betting on domestic resilience even as the government prepares to potentially sacrifice billions in fuel revenue to offset Middle East oil shocks. This comes despite the likelihood that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr....
The Philippine economy is currently in a strange, uncomfortable middle ground. While the numbers for the early part of the year looked okay on paper, the experience at the grocery store or the gas station today feels very different. Interest rates are holding steady at high levels, the peso is...
Motorists and transport operators are bracing for another double-digit spike in fuel prices next week, as volatile shift in Middle East geopolitical rhetoric continues to rattle global energy benchmarks. Based on four days of trading under the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), the regional pricing...
This Lenten season is an opportunity for us to reflect on the challenges we’re facing brought about by the Middle East conflict and how it will shape our daily behaviors, thoughts, and relationships. Yes, Virginia, all of us—advanced and emerging economies alike—are feeling the pain and...
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Thursday, April 2 lauded the government for securing a “safe passage” deal with Iran, saying it is a major win for the country which is still reeling from the impact of the oil crisis due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Gatchalian, chairman of the...
Senator Christopher “Bong” Go on Thursday, April 2, called on the government to implement a more responsive fuel relief mechanism in light of the oil price surges. Go, made the appeal even after the President’s signing of the law temporarily suspending excise tax, raising concerns over...
Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano said he believes that the ongoing oil crisis is a good opportunity to train the country’s future leaders. Cayetano expressed his belief to hundreds of graduating and moving-up students with their parents during end-of-school-year rites in Taguig City...
The Philippines and its emerging neighbors in Southeast Asia face deepening threat of physical fuel shortages and systemic economic paralysis as the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz chokes off refined petroleum imports. According to Oxford Economics, the Philippines is among the most...
The Philippines has asked Iran to be designated as a “non-hostile” country in the Strait of Hormuz as the government is struggling to meet its oil needs due to the waterway’s partial closure. Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro on Wednesday, April 1, sat down...
Philippine officials on Wednesday, April 1, sat down with Iran 's top diplomat in Manila as the government sought unrestricted passage of tankers carrying oil for the country through the Strait of Hormuz. Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro and Department of Energy...
A wider external imbalance threatens to add further depreciation pressure on the already record-weak Philippine peso, as escalating geopolitical tensions—particularly the United States (US)-backed Israel-Iran conflict—are expected to drive up import costs and weigh on export growth, widening...
Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc., the infrastructure arm of the billionaire Aboitiz family’s conglomerate, is overhauling its operational protocols and employee benefits to navigate the national energy emergency triggered by volatility in the Persian Gulf. Aboitiz InfraCapital joined the growing list of...
