President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Wednesday the Israel-Iran conflict has had minimal impact on the Philippine economy, especially after both nations have agreed to a ceasefire.

“So far there is no effect. So there is no significant effect on the economy,” the President told reporters in an interview.

Earlier, Marcos met with his economic team to discuss the country’s response to the crisis in the Middle East.

“We looked at it and we analyzed what would happen. And we saw that the effect on the economy should be manageable,” he said.

Marcos, however, pointed out that fuel prices could still rise regardless of developments in the Middle East.

He noted the price of crude oil had climbed to US$79 per barrel before dropping back to around US$69.

When it reaches the US$80 per barrel threshold, the government will activate its fuel subsidy program, beginning with a notification from the Department of Energy to the Department of Transportation and the Department of Agriculture which will then roll out financial aid to public utility vehicle drivers, delivery riders, farmers, fisherfolk, and the other sectors concerned.

Business as usual

As market oil prices remained the same, Marcos said the government could continue with business as usual.

“If the price of oil did not change, then we do as before. What we said before was it is not financial aid but a subsidy, if the price went up. If it didn’t, there is no need for that,” he said.

Meanwhile, the President expressed concern over the current practice of oil companies of raising pump prices even when the cost of oil from their sources remained unchanged.

“That’s what we are looking at right now — the price gouging. Because I’ve seen a lot of price increases but the price of oil hasn’t increased. So that’s what we’re going to monitor now. That’s what we are going to watch,” he said.

Meanwhile, the President, through the Department of Energy, asked the oil companies to stagger this week’s price hikes, which the companies agreed to by spreading the increase in fuel prices over two days — Tuesday and Thursday.