Motorists will get fuel subsidies due to Mideast tension – Marcos

Updated @ 3:12 p.m., June 18, 2025

MANILA, Philippines — Fuel subsidies will be provided to motorists amid the ongoing tension in the Middle East, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vowed on Wednesday.

In an ambush interview in Quezon City, Marcos said a surge in oil prices could be expected, prompting the government to prepare appropriate assistance.

“So the subsidies that we have always given, fuel subsidies that we gave… if you remember during the pandemic, especially public transport drivers, we gave them fuel subsidies so that they can earn a living,” Marcos said in a mix of English and Filipino when asked if the government was bracing for a further increase in oil prices.

“Now we will have to do the same for those who are severely affected, stakeholders, by any instability in the price of oil. Yes, it's a serious problem,” he added.

READ: Philippines bracing for oil, fertilizer price shocks from Middle East crisis

Meanwhile, Marcos said the Philippine government was able to evacuate Filipinos who wished to leave Iran and Israel.

“The problem we encountered in evacuating them was that, because of the war, many airports were closed, so we had to look for routes where we could get them out—but we have been able to do that,” he said.

“In fact, [Migrant Workers] Secretary [Hans Leo] Cacdac is already on his way to Jordan so he can coordinate with both the evacuees from Israel and evacuees from Iran,” he continued.

On Friday, Israel launched attacks against Iran, killing top military commanders and nuclear scientists and striking military bases, nuclear sites, and residential areas across the country.

In response, Iran fired back and called Israel’s attacks a “declaration of war.”

No mandatory evacuation yet

Marcos said there would be no need to impose a mandatory evacuation for Filipinos in Israel and Iran at this time.

“We generally leave it to each individual, to each family, to decide for themselves whether or not they feel safe or whether or not they would like to be evacuated,” he said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) are the lead agencies responsible for the mandatory repatriation of Filipinos, particularly during war, epidemics, or natural disasters.

Meanwhile, at a briefing held the same day, Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said they might investigate whether certain agencies were accountable for the stranding of 18 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Dubai.

The workers were bound for Tel Aviv in Israel and Amman in Jordan, but they got stranded in Dubai due to the temporary shutdown of major airports amid the ongoing conflict in the region. The OFWs were repatriated on June 16.

“Maybe we will look closely into this to see what happened because, as the president said, the repatriation of our countrymen is voluntary,” Castro said in Filipino.

“So, we will look into the situation. Was there any shortcoming on the part of the Bureau of Immigration in allowing this? But we won’t make any immediate judgments. Let’s first look at the details,” she added. /atm

(2025/06/18-12:25)