Summary
Highlights
The economic fallout from the US-Israel-Iran war continues as the president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has declared a state of national energy emergency in response to the Middle East conflict and what he is calling an imminent danger that is posed to the country's energy supply. This came in the form of an executive order which allows the government to take steps to take measures legally without having to go through Congress for approval.
The Philippines has seen numerous price hikes since the conflict started in the Middle East. One issue is that 98% of the country's oil supplies comes through the Persian Gulf. So the country has really been suffering from everything from transportation to the price of rice which has more than doubled as well because rice has to be transported from wherever it's imported from into the cities and out to the rural areas as well. There was another rate hike just today and that takes the price of diesel and petrol as well to more than double since the conflict started.
The executive order gives the government powers to control the distribution of food and movement, reducing reliance on energy. There were demonstrations organized for this coming Thursday and Friday, but emergency powers generally mean that the government can stop those types of demonstrations. The government has implemented a number of other measures, including a 4-day working week for office-goers and asking government employees to use the stairs instead of lifts. This is the biggest measure yet, and the Philippines is the first country in the world to declare some sort of emergency as a result of the disruption to oil supplies in the Middle East.
There have been subsidies and handouts, but many drivers of buses said those subsidies are not enough to cover the rent of those buses and that they really need help with being able to increase prices for their customers. The government also controls the fares, so perhaps with these measures, that could help as well. But the other issue is that those buses also transport kids to school, children all over the country, and they are not able to provide those services. And food getting around the country is also a problem.