Passenger van driver Joseph set out for his daily run at four o’clock in the morning, an hour earlier than usual. “I need the extra fare so I can fill up before diesel prices increase again,” Joseph said on Tuesday before setting off while it is still dark.
The Philippines woke to fuel price increases for the fourth straight week yesterday in reaction to renewed increased tensions in West Asia. Pump price hikes are again substantial, sparking renewed calls by transport workers for fare increases across the country.
“This feels like the beginning of March again,” Joseph said, recalling oil price shocks when US-instigated tensions erupted earlier this year.
Double digit increases
Diesel prices increased by as much as P11 per liter yesterday, the biggest hike since shooting resumed in the Gulf Region. Kerosene registered a higher price increase by as much as P12 per liter while gasoline is more expensive by P4 per liter.
On average, diesel currently retails at P78.59 per liter, while gasoline is at P80.59 per liter.
Department of Energy secretary Sharon Garin pointed squarely at renewed tensions in the Middle East for the month-long price uptick, assuring, however, that the Philippines currently has a 49-day buffer should supply routes become even more constricted by the expanding war.
Houti belligerents have warned of “active engagements” against ships passing through the Red Sea, including those that are connected with Saudi Arabia.
The Philippines sources 80 percent of its fuel supplies from West Asia.
Fare hike petitions
Public transport federations meanwhile have revived petitions for increases in fares.
Liberty de Luna, president of the Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations (ACTO), said it is time for Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to approve a P1.00 increase in base fares.
De Luna recalled that while their petition had been initially approved by the transportation regulatory board last March, Marcos ignored the petition, choosing instead to give cash assistance packages and fuel discounts in select gasoline stations in major cities.
ACTO said their fare hike petition had actually been filed even before the US-Israel-Iran conflict started in late February, noting that their original petition was at P3.00 fare increase for the first four kilometers of the commute.
A commuters’ group however cautioned against fare increases, suggesting a public consultation should first be held. Passenger Forum advocacy officer Mike Quinto said that fare hikes should be a last option while the Marcos government should roll out other forms of intervention.
Government windfall
In response to mounting calls for the suspension of taxes on oil products while Middle East tensions rage, Marcos Jr. temporarily suspended excise taxes on cooking gas and kerosene. Despite special powers given by Congress, however, the Philippine president refused to suspend value added and excise taxes on diesel and gasoline.
Marcos argued that halting transport fuel taxes would not provide meaningful relief for consumers, but would instead cost the government up to P43.6 billion in lost revenues.
Higher fuel costs have benefitted the government more than it projected, however. Overall fuel import revenues reached P83.41 billion by mid-April alone.
In return, the Marcos government has allotted P15.375 billion in direct cash assistance to low-income families and displaced overseas workers to cushion the impacts of the renewed Middle East crisis and subsequent global oil shocks.
Joseph said that not all those affected by the oil price shocks are given cash aids by the government. “As a public vehicle driver, I care about how much diesel costs. That directly relates whether I could still earn doing this job,” he said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
