A Senate oversight hearing on the economic impact of the Middle East conflict turned into a sharp rebuke of the government’s cautious framing Tuesday, with multiple legislators insisting the Philippines has already crossed into crisis territory.
Senator JV Ejercito was among the most direct, arguing that conditions on the ground have left no room for equivocation. “We are in crisis already! Creation of the task force or crisis committee should have been done right when the conflict started. Nonetheless, the formation of the committee now is still welcome,” he said. Ejercito has been pushing for the establishment of an interagency task force to coordinate the government’s response to the conflict’s economic and energy spillover.
The hearing, convened under the Senate’s PROTECT committee, came after Malacañang dismissed fears of an oil crisis, insisting fuel supplies remain sufficient while acknowledging what it called a “price disruption.”
Senator Loren Legarda rejected that framing, calling on agencies to stop hedging. “Until we define it as a crisis, we will not act in record time to save our people. So, each agency represented here must act as if we’re in a crisis because we are in a crisis,” she said. Legarda also raised the question of how much fiscal space remains in the national budget to fund a meaningful emergency response.
“If we do not admit that there’s a crisis in the Middle East, affecting our OFWs and their families, affecting the prices of our petroleum products, energy, food prices, transport, and displacing millions of Filipinos, the agencies will not act with urgency,” she added.
Senator Bam Aquino renewed his push for a state of national emergency, saying the country has been in crisis for nearly a month. “Kailangan ng pamahalaan ng mas malawak na kapangyarihan upang agad-agad na matugunan ang krisis na ito. Sa ilalim ng state of national emergency, maaari tayong magpatupad ng mga hakbang sa pag-regulate sa presyo ng essential goods at pagtitiyak na may sapat na supply sa ating merkado,” he said. Aquino noted that the 2026 national budget already contains P220 billion earmarked for assistance that could be deployed across sectors including transportation and small businesses.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has directed the creation of a crisis committee to address fuel price increases tied to the conflict, according to Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro, who declined to elaborate as the panel’s composition was still being finalized.
Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano welcomed the move as consistent with earlier calls from the chamber for stronger contingency planning. “Nasusubukan ang ating pundasyon ‘pag mayroong kalamidad o sakuna… I don’t think there’s a problem that we expect the worst or prepare for the worst. Kung hindi, nandiyan ‘yung contingency plan [to implement],” Cayetano said.
Senator Joel Villanueva argued the situation demands a unified government posture rather than fragmented interventions. “The impact of the conflict in the Middle East demands nothing less than a whole-of-government response. Ensuring stable supply of food and petroleum products affects every Filipino family and we cannot afford a piecemeal approach here,” he said.
