LIVE UPDATES: Conflict in the Middle East (April 10, 2026)

US President Donald Trump warned Tehran not to charge tolls on ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz, as a mounting global energy crisis prompted Japan on Friday to announce a further emergency oil release.

The Iran war has damaged Gulf energy production, stranded tanker traffic, and boosted oil prices by about 50% in the world's worst energy shock, with Asian buyers among the hardest hit.

"There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. "They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now."

"That is not the agreement we have!" Trump said.

Energy Secretary Sharon Garin on Friday said around P170 billion per year is the estimated revenue loss once the value added tax (VAT) on fuel products is removed.

“How much revenue loss? I’m not from the Department of Finance but I think the estimate was about 170 billion per year ang VAT on petroleum products. So, that’s 170 billion also na mawawala sa collection,” Garin said in a press briefing.

An amendment on the law is needed to remove VAT on petroleum products, according to Garin.

The removal of value-added tax (VAT) on petroleum products amid the surging fuel prices will worsen the country's situation in the face of the Middle East crisis, House ways and means panel chairperson and Marikina City 2nd District Representative Miro Quimbo said.

"When that happens, not only will we lose government revenues. It will also affect our credit rating," Quimbo said during Day 1 of the committee hearing on oil crisis responses conducted by the 13-strong House committees led by the House ways and means panel.

The implementation of a fuel rationing scheme amid tight global supply driven by heightened tensions in the Middle East is not being considered by the government, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said Friday.

''We never discuss it, we never consider it,'' Garin said at a press briefing when asked if the implementation of this scheme is imminent amid fuel price hikes.

A wave of around 100 airstrikes in southern Lebanon within 10 minutes has drawn global attention back to the “Rules of War” under international law.

The legal framework governing armed conflict is known as International Humanitarian Law (IHL), which sets limits on how wars are fought.

These rules of war aim to protect people who are not participating in hostilities and to restrict the means and methods of warfare.

The foundation of modern IHL is the Geneva Conventions with additional protocols. These rules are monitored and interpreted by bodies such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

MONTREAL/NEW DELHI — Airline pilots who have safety concerns about flying in the Middle East during the Iran war have told a global aviators' union group they fear blowback ranging from lost pay to being fired if they refuse assignments, its president Ron Hay said.

Pilots from Lebanon to India have voiced "widespread" concerns they could face sanctions if they do not fly in often unpredictable conditions where airspace can close with little notice due to missile or drone strikes, according to the head of the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations.

Multilateral lender Asian Development Bank (ADB) expects the Philippines’ economic growth to be subdued this year, dragged by uncertainty and inflationary pressures arising from the ongoing war in the Middle East.

In the January edition of its flagship publication, Asian Development Outlook (ADO), the ADB projected that the country’s economy, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP)—the total value of goods and services produced in a country in a given period—will settle at 4.4% in 2026, lower than its December 2025 ADO forecast of 5.3%.

The Manila-based lender’s latest growth outlook, if realized, would mean that the economy will stagnate this year as the country’s GDP grew at the same rate of 4.4% in 2025.

MONTREAL/NEW DELHI — Airline pilots who have safety concerns about flying in the Middle East during the Iran war have told a global aviators' union group they fear blowback ranging from lost pay to being fired if they refuse assignments, its president Ron Hay said.

Pilots from Lebanon to India have voiced "widespread" concerns they could face sanctions if they do not fly in often unpredictable conditions where airspace can close with little notice due to missile or drone strikes, according to the head of the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations.

"There is an underlying fear of retribution," Hay told Reuters in his first interview on the matter.

Customers of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) will see another round of increase in their household electricity rate this month as the peso’s depreciation against the US dollar due to the Middle East crisis drove up generation costs.

In an advisory on Friday, Meralco announced an increase of 53 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in its power for April 2026.

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. has ordered the distribution of P8 billion to 42,000 barangays, which aims to ease the burden of the public amid the Middle East crisis. 

Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said the program, rolled out on March 24, provides each barangay with P200,000 for educational, social, and economic projects.

''Direktang ibibigay ang suporta sa mga barangay. Utos ng Pangulo na palakasin sila sapagkat ang mga frontliners na ito ang pinakamalapit sa tao. Sila ang unang nakakakita ng problema. At sila rin ang dapat may kakayahang umaksyon agad,” Recto said in a press statement.

(We will directly give support to barangays. The President directed the strengthening of these barangays as they serve as frontliners for the public. They see first the problem and they should also immediately act on this.)