A fuel subsidy worth P10 per liter is set to benefit public utility vehicle drivers and operators starting next week, with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announcing the measure Thursday in response to fuel prices that have climbed sharply since fighting erupted in the Middle East.
The subsidy is capped at 150 liters weekly and will run for three months, translating to P1,500 in weekly savings and a total of P18,000 per beneficiary over the program’s duration. Only gasoline stations approved and monitored by the Department of Energy will participate.
Rollout begins along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City, covering PUVs on one of Metro Manila’s busiest corridors. Marcos said the program would expand within days to routes along Quezon Avenue, Alabang-Zapote Road, A. Bonifacio Avenue, Rizal Avenue, and Marcos Highway before reaching the rest of the country.
The types of PUVs that will qualify were not specified in the President’s statement. Under existing classification, PUVs in the Philippines encompass buses, jeepneys, UV Express, taxis, and ride-hailing vehicles. Jeepney drivers have said they typically burn around 30 liters of diesel per day.
Guidelines on how drivers may actually claim the subsidy at participating stations have yet to be issued by the Department of Transportation and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.
Diesel prices hit P170 per liter on Tuesday — the result of five consecutive weeks of double-digit price hikes — before a two-week ceasefire announced Wednesday briefly pulled global benchmark Brent crude from $109 per barrel to below $100. A local oil industry source told the Inquirer that diesel could fall by P2.50 to P3.50 per liter in next week’s price cycle, though the source cautioned the estimate was not guaranteed given the fragility of the truce. Gasoline may see no movement or a drop of around P1 per liter, the source said.
The ceasefire, brokered by Pakistan with negotiations set for Friday in Islamabad, held only briefly. Hours after US President Donald Trump announced the two-week halt — contingent on keeping the Strait of Hormuz open — Israel resumed strikes on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon, including populated areas of Beirut, prompting Iran to close the Strait again. Ship tracking firm MarineTraffic had recorded initial vessel movements through the waterway following the announcement before the closure.
Business groups in Manila said the window was too narrow to count on. Philexport president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. warned that global supply chains remained exposed even during the pause.
“Exporters are particularly concerned about the unpredictability of freight rates and delivery timelines, which directly impact our competitiveness in the global market,” Ortiz-Luis said.
He called on economic managers to act within the interval, including monitoring fuel price movements, exploring targeted support for affected sectors, and strengthening engagement with trade partners.
Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Ferdinand Ferrer pointed to the brief Strait reopening as an opening to rebuild buffer stocks before any renewed disruption.
“We need to buffer stock for any possible disruptions,” Ferrer said.
Shipping industry figures put a finer point on the bottleneck. Association of International Shipping Lines president Patrick Ronas told a Senate hearing Wednesday that roughly 130 container vessels remained stranded in the Strait. He said cargo bound for the Philippines and other markets was being offloaded at Khor Fakkan in the UAE rather than reaching intended ports, with goods then trucked across the region.
“Once containers are dropped to the area, they will now have to be trucked to the destinations all over the Middle East,” Ronas said.
The fuel subsidy announced Thursday is separate from two earlier relief measures: a one-time DOTr subsidy ranging from P1,500 to P10,000 for PUV drivers and operators, and a P5,000 cash assistance package from the Department of Social Welfare and Development covering tricycle drivers, delivery riders, and motorcycle taxis alongside standard PUVs.
Marcos also announced a nationwide service contracting program under the DOTr set to launch April 15, covering around 50,000 PUVs and 1,000 operators. Contracted drivers and operators would earn P40 to P100 per kilometer on top of regular income, with GPS monitoring to verify trips, and commuters receiving a 20-percent fare discount. The program is projected to serve up to 15 million passengers.
