Middle East Strike Sparks Fuel Price Crisis for Philippines
A joint US-Israeli strike on February 28 killed Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and triggered a wave of missiles and drones across the Middle East.
Energy infrastructures were attacked, including commercial vessels and oil tankers, disrupting maritime traffic. The Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed, carrying around 20 percent of the world's oil and gas supplies. Global energy markets were thrown into disarray as a result.
The Philippines, which sources most of its crude oil from the Middle East, experienced the largest single jump in fuel prices. Gasoline prices surged past P120 per liter, while diesel prices reached up to P170 per liter in Metro Manila and highly urbanized cities.
The Department of Energy (DOE) maintained that it was not facing an energy crisis during media briefings, but eventually declared a national energy emergency through Executive Order 110 on March 24. The government activated a whole-of-government approach to respond to the global oil crisis.