The oil-poor nation is to shift to a four-day work week with fuel prices set to rocket up amid the Iran conflict, President Ferdinand Marcos said.
Marcos announced the shift on Friday, set to start at all government offices tomorrow, among measures aimed at easing the economic impact of the armed conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States.
He warned that the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil supply transits, would increase local pump prices next week by 7.48 pesos (RM0.53) per litre for gasoline, 17.28 pesos (RM1.15) for diesel and 32.35 pesos (RM2.16) for kerosene.
“We are victims of a war that is not of our choosing,” Marcos said in a statement. “But we control how we will protect the Filipino.”
The Philippines imports most of its crude oil from the Middle East and still relies on oil-fired power plants to generate electricity.
The conflict also threatens the safety and job security of more than two million Filipinos working in the Middle East.
Marcos also ordered all government agencies to cut their fuel and power consumption by 10-20%, banned government study tours and team-building activities, as well as “meetings that can be done online”.
He urged Congress to authorise him to reduce excise taxes on petroleum products if the price of crude oil breached US$80 (RM316) per barrel, as well as to amend a biofuels law so cheaper bioethanol can be used for blending with petroleum products.
The government will also provide fuel subsidies and cash transfers to affected sectors, he said without giving details.
Marcos said the four-day work week will be “temporary” but gave no end date.
Frontline services, police and firemen are exempt from the four-day work week, he added. — AFP
