MANILA (AFP): Queues formed at Philippine petrol stations and officials warned against hoarding on Monday as residents raced to fill their tanks ahead of an expected surge in prices driven by the US-Israeli war against Iran.
The fighting in the Middle East has disrupted shipping and damaged oil and gas facilities in the region, sending global oil prices soaring as countries scramble to deal with concerns over supply.
In the Philippines, consumers will be hit with a series of staggered price increases from Tuesday, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin told a congressional committee.
The news comes as President Ferdinand Marcos has announced a four-day government work week to save fuel, and governments across Asia are considering suspending exports, installing price caps and even dipping into strategic reserves to stabilise their domestic fuel markets.
The price of diesel, which powers the Philippines' public buses and ubiquitous jeepneys, would jump between 17 and 24 pesos (29 to 40 US cents) per litre, Garin said at an afternoon press briefing.
The cost of normal gasoline would increase by seven to 13 pesos, while kerosene prices would be hardest hit, jumping between 32 and 38.50 pesos, according to a chart she shared.
"You have to remember though that the price is not regulated by (the Department of Energy)," Garin told reporters.
"What we can do is monitor and have them explain why their prices are like that, but we cannot impose."
At a petrol station in Metro Manila, AFP journalists saw motorcycles, taxis and private cars queuing in scorching heat.
Gas station attendant Enrico Guda, 31, said the normal number of vehicles the station handled in a day had doubled to about 1,000 as customers sought to fuel up before prices jumped.
"The line started 24 hours ago. Morning, afternoon, even at dawn," he said.
Francis Aranda, a 25-year-old university student, told AFP the spike "hurts".
"I'm planning to use half my (weekly) fuel allowance so I won't have to worry in the coming days in case the war in Iran continues," he said.
Police, meanwhile, have been instructed "to inspect gasoline stations in their localities... and gather evidence of profiteering or hoarding", Philippine National Police spokesman Brigadier General Randulf Tuano told a news briefing Monday.
The ferries that tens of thousands rely on each day to traverse the archipelago nation of 116 million were also in the process of hiking fares.
Starlite Ferries, a relatively small operator in the central Philippines, announced that a 25 percent increase would take effect Tuesday for both passengers and cargo.
Montenegro Shipping Lines, which operates a fleet of 48 vessels, said its prices would go up 10-20 percent from March 23.
Marcos last week called on Congress to authorise him to reduce excise taxes on petroleum products if the price of crude oil breached $80 per barrel, a request an administration spokeswoman said he would formalise on Monday.
West Texas Intermediate, the main US oil benchmark, and Brent crude prices surged north of $110 a barrel on Monday. -- AFP
