By Robert B. Roque Jr.
The war continues to rage in the Middle East, and halfway across the world, Filipinos are paying for it literally and deeply. But not just us. The whole world, actually.
At the center of this disruption is the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow but critical artery through which a significant portion of the world’s oil exports pass. It must remain open and protected. When it tightens or is threatened, economies — especially less developed ones like the Philippines — struggle to function. This goes far beyond fuel for cars or transport. It cuts into food on the table, school allowances, daily commuting, and the ability of businesses to earn and survive. Entire ways of life are squeezed by these high prices.
For comic relief, Pinoys on social media did what they do best: cope by coming up with memes. One such absurd idea was that Japan supposedly “declined” to send Voltes V and other anime heroes to the Strait despite calls from America’s Donald Trump to secure global fuel routes. There were 14 gas stations cited as the new route of the Lenten Way of the Cross, and premium gas and diesel are now sold in sachets. It all gave us a laugh, precisely because the reality is so heavy.
Yes, the prices are a nightmare. Based on the Asian Diesel Price Tracker released March 22, 2026, diesel prices in the Philippines jumped from ₱54.89 per liter in January to between ₱108 and ₱129 — an almost 97% increase, the highest in Asia. Other countries saw increases of only 33% to 45%. A weak peso at ₱60.10 to the dollar has eroded buying power, while domestic policies amplify the pain: the Oil Deregulation Law of 1998 (RA 8479) allows market-based pricing, and the TRAIN Law of 2017 (RA 10963) imposes excise taxes, on top of the 12% VAT.
And yet, balance is needed. These laws were not designed to punish. Deregulation was meant to foster competition and efficiency, and in many respects, it has. TRAIN, for all its burdens, funds government operations. One uncomfortable truth, however, changes the complexion of things: given the systemic corruption that has plagued administrations, privatization in many cases has delivered better outcomes for Filipinos than state control ever did in normal times.
To alleviate our situation from what is clearly a global fuel crisis, adjustments are being pushed. The Senate has approved on third reading a measure authorizing President Bongbong Marcos to suspend or reduce excise taxes on petroleum products once global benchmarks breach a set threshold, offering a form of immediate, if temporary, relief. Its counterpart in the House, however, requires a declared state of emergency before such relief can be triggered — an added layer that may delay response. Either way, these are stopgap measures. The real driver of these high prices remains external: war, disrupted supply chains, and the simple law of supply and demand. The bombs and missiles, as some bluntly put it, are what push prices up — not the pumps.
In the midst of these coping mechanisms, let me point out something else troubling. There were photos online of tarpaulins at a Petron gas station in Pasig vandalized and pelted with greasy mud packs on March 16 — a violent response from protesters that were just deeply misguided and disturbing.
Out of nowhere and without provocation, young, gung-ho protesters, some of them students, targeted the Petron station and related properties with acts that were simply a low blow. It was a spectacle more than a believable advocacy. Gas stations do not control global oil prices in situations like this. They import, supply, and adjust based on international benchmarks under Department of Energy guidance. Data even shows Petron implemented among the lowest staggered increases compared with competitors during the March 17–23 cycle, while dozens of smaller stations were flagged for violations.
So why attack Petron? Because it is visible. Because it is big. Because it is easy. That is not protest — that is performance.
The irony is glaring. These are the same ideological strains that once criticized government control of industries and pushed for privatization, arguing that professional firms could better serve the public and keep resources away from corrupt hands. So, what do they really want?
Meanwhile, the conglomerate they vilify, San Miguel Corporation, quietly delivers. Just last Sunday, SMC Infrastructure — same as Metro Pacific Tollways — offered rebates starting yesterday to users of its expressways, an act in solidarity with the government’s call to help ease the burden on public transport drivers, delivery trucks carrying food and produce, and the broader logistics chain strained by high fuel costs. It is not the first time SMC has stepped in during difficult moments.
This is a company that has, in recent years, removed 8.8 million tons of debris and silt from major river systems to help mitigate flooding — doing what many believe public works should have long addressed. During the pandemic, it opened its tollways for free to medical frontliners, food deliveries, and emergency response vehicles at a time when mobility meant survival. Today, it is leading the rehabilitation and modernization of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, slowly pulling the country’s main gateway out of years of neglect and global embarrassment under government management.
Sometimes, netizens react with little sense of history, quick to bash, and slow to acknowledge when a private firm exercises bayanihan and nationalism in plain sight, that it borders on ingratitude. These firms chose to invest and reinvest in the Philippines, creating jobs, building infrastructure, and generating value for communities. In many ways, they have earned the right to be called nation-builders.
Filipinos are right to be angry at high prices. But low blows when misdirected, uninformed, and destructive only make things worse. In the end, only peace will truly bring relief.
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