Marcos to DOE: Closely monitor Middle East tension as fuel prices expected to hike

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. has tasked the Department of Energy (DOE) to strictly monitor the tension in the Middle East as this is expected to affect fuel prices.

''I-monitor pong mabuti kung anong sitwasyon para po makapagbigay ng agaran ding solusyon at kahit papaano po ayuda kung talaga pong sobrang tataas ang presyo ng krudo,'' Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said in a Tuesday briefing when asked about the President's directive to the DOE. 

(Closely monitor the situation so that they can provide immediate solution and to provide aid if the prices of oil will really increase.) 

Castro also mentioned that DOE officer-in-charge Sharon Garin had told her that the agency is monitoring the situation there. 

The Department of Energy-Oil Industry Management Bureau (DOE-OIMB) earlier projected pump price hikes this week, citing gains on positive US-China trade signals, the stall in nuclear negotiations between US and Iran, and the expected oil demand growth in the next two and a half decades.

Motorists will have to pay more for petroleum products this week, as retailers on Monday announced major upward adjustments to mark the fifth straight week of increases for gasoline, third for diesel, and second for kerosene. 

The conflict between Iran and Israel began last Friday when the latter attacked Iran with air strikes.             

This has raised alarms in a region that had already been on edge since the start of Israel's military assault on Gaza in October 2023. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News