Metro Manila, Philippines – Diesel prices could exceed ₱80 per liter this month, an energy official told the Senate, while the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) projected that the Middle East war could last up to eight weeks.
“Well, by next week, effectively… kung one-time bagsakan, pwede ‘yung umabot na… above ₱80 po,” Oil Management Bureau Director Rino Abad told the Senate committee on foreign relations on Friday, March 6.
[Translation: Well, by next week, effectively… if the increase is implemented all at once, it could reach above P80.]
Committee chairman Erwin Tulfo repeatedly clarified the official’s statement.
Abad said the projection is only an estimate, adding that the DOE is appealing to oil companies to implement staggered increases.
“Spread out nila for two weeks, then kalahati lang po nung P18 na increase supposedly dun sa diesel ang mai-implement,” Abad said.
[Translation: They should spread it over two weeks, then only half of the supposed ₱18 increase for diesel would be implemented initially.]
Gasoline prices, meanwhile, could reach ₱64 per liter if the projected ₱8 per liter hike is also implemented gradually, Abad added.
“Killing me softly. Ganon din ho, papunta na rin tayo [Still, that’s where we’re headed],” Tulfo said.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier assured the public that the country has a 50-day fuel stockpile.
Eight-week war
A ranking DFA official said projections indicate that the conflict in the Middle East could last up to two months.
“We hope it will end soon, but based on the situation, I think it will be a protracted war,” DFA Assistant Secretary Germinia Aguilar-Usudan of the Office of Middle East and African Affairs said.
“Based on the reports sa various posts, we were informed that the US is trying to send more rockets to Iran and then the president is also trying to have a say on who will be the next leader of Iran,” she explained.
“So the projection from the reports that we received, it will take four weeks to eight weeks,” she added.
She said overseas Filipino workers and their remittances could bear the brunt, while rising fuel prices back home would drive up the cost of basic commodities.
Repatriation concerns
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) acknowledged security challenges in bringing home stranded Filipinos and OFWs who wish to leave the Middle East.
DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac said repatriation efforts are being carefully coordinated across five Middle Eastern countries.
The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) said it currently has enough funds to repatriate around 10,000 Filipinos, using the P1.5 billion remaining in its coffers, but noted that additional funding may be needed if more OFWs require evacuation.
No security threat
The Department of National Defense (DND), meanwhile, said there is no immediate security threat to the Philippines.
“We haven’t received any significant information to warrant any concerns,” DND Assistant Secretary Jeffrey Hechanova said.
He also dismissed concerns raised by Senator Rodante Marcoleta that Iran could target Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites in the Philippines, similar to its retaliatory attacks on US-linked facilities elsewhere.
Hechanova explained that EDCA sites are not US military bases and do not host permanent American troops.
Aguilar-Usudan said during a November 2025 political consultation with Iran, the Philippines clarified this point. She said Manila maintains good diplomatic relations with Tehran.
