Agricultural advocacy group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) on Saturday called on the government to distribute fertilizer subsidies to farmers to support their livelihoods amid rising fertilizer costs resulting from global oil price shocks.
Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, SINAG executive director Jayson Cainglet said the price per bag of urea fertilizer has jumped by P1,500.
An economist on Saturday said that suspending the collection of excise tax on petroleum products would be felt the fastest by the poor in a bid to ease the inflationary impact of global oil price spikes amid the Middle East war.
“Ako, sa aking palagay, ‘yan ang pinakamabilis na puwedeng gawin ng pamahalaan — tanggalin ang excise tax sa mga produktong petrolyo. At ‘yan ay makatutulong na makababa doon sa kinakarga ng mga mamamayan sa transportasyon,” economist Emmanuel Leyco, fellow at the Centre for People Empowerment in Government, said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.
(In my opinion, suspending the excise tax on petroleum products is the fastest thing the government can do. And that will help lessen the burden on the public when it comes to transportation.)
The economist said that apart from transportation, petroleum products are also an input or logistics cost for agricultural products.
“Sa aking simpleng pag-iisip, palagay ko, kapag nabawasan ang presyo ng petrolyo eh major input ‘yan hindi lamang doon sa transportasyon ng mga mamamayan kundi roon sa logistics na nakakapagpataas ng presyo ng halaga ng mga input para sa kanilang mga produksyon,” Leyco said.
(In my simple analysis, I think if there is a decrease in the prices of petroleum products, that is a major input not only in the transportation of the public but also in the logistics that drive up the prices of inputs needed for production.)
The economist earlier said that the wealthy are not the only ones who will benefit once the collection of fuel excise tax is suspended.
Below is a list of the excise taxes imposed on manufactured oils and other fuels that have been in place since 2020, in line with the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law:
Retail prices could decrease by the amounts mentioned above if President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. completely suspends the excise taxes.
Early this month, Marcos suspended the collection of excise taxes on LPG and kerosene, a move aimed at easing the burden on households amid volatile global oil prices driven by tensions in the Middle East. —KG, GMA News
WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD/CAIRO - US President Donald Trump said on Friday he was not satisfied with the latest Iranian proposal for talks on the Iran war, while Iran's foreign minister said Tehran was ready for diplomacy if the United States changes its approach.
Trump's comments indicated the deadlock over the two-month-old war is likely to persist, even as he looks to end a conflict that remains deeply unpopular among Americans.
Meanwhile, US relations with its traditional allies were further strained over Iran on Friday, as the United States announced it was withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany. Trump had threatened a drawdown over differences with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said on Monday the Iranians were humiliating the United States and that the Americans lacked an exit strategy.
A senior Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said recent German comments were "inappropriate and unhelpful."
"The president is rightly reacting to these counterproductive remarks," the official said.
Though the United States and Iran have suspended hostilities since an April 8 ceasefire, the two countries remain at odds over a range of issues, including Iran's nuclear ambitions and control over the Strait of Hormuz, and the two sides have yet to agree to a second meeting following a brief summit of senior officials in Islamabad last month.
It was unclear what the Iranians had submitted in their fresh proposal. Iran's Foreign Ministry has cautioned against expecting quick results.
"They want to make a deal, but ... I'm not satisfied with it," Trump told reporters at the White House, adding that the Iranian leadership was "very disjointed" and split into two or three groups.
"They're asking for things that I can't agree to," he said, adding that negotiations by phone were continuing.
Later on Friday, during a speech in Florida, Trump said the United States would not end its confrontation with Iran early "and then have the problem arise in three more years."
Trump has said Iran would not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. He is also under pressure to break Iran's hold on the strait, which has choked off 20% of the world's oil and gas supplies.
Global oil prices eased on Friday following news of the Iranian proposal, coming off Thursday's four-year high. Benchmark Brent crude was down 1% to around $109.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said his country was ready to pursue diplomacy if the United States changes what he called its "excessive approach, threatening rhetoric and provocative actions."
However, Araqchi added in a post on his Telegram channel that "Iran's armed forces remained ready to defend the country against any threat."
Iran has activated air defenses and plans a wide response if attacked, having assessed that there will be a short, intensive US strike, possibly followed by an Israeli attack, two senior Iranian sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Reports on plans for new strikes
Separately, Trump told leaders in Congress that he did not need their permission to extend the war beyond a Friday deadline set by law because the ceasefire had "terminated" hostilities.
"Do we want to go and just blast the hell out of them and finish them forever? Or do we want to try and make a deal?" Trump said when asked about his options.
Trump added that "on a human basis," he did not prefer the military course of action.
The war, which began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, has led to the deaths of thousands of people. The closure of the strait has increased concerns about the possibility of a wider global economic downturn.
The US Navy is blockading exports of Iranian crude oil. As of Friday afternoon, 45 commercial vessels had been stopped, according to the US military.
The US Treasury said that any ?shipper paying tolls to Iran for passage, including charitable donations to organizations such as the Iranian Red Crescent Society, would be at risk of punitive sanctions.
Iran says to buy domestic
The war has aggravated Iran's economic plight, but it looks able to survive a standoff for now, despite the US blockade that has curtailed its energy exports.
In a written message, Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei called on businesses damaged in the war to avoid layoffs as much as possible, Iranian news agencies reported.
China's UN ambassador, Fu Cong, said it was an urgent necessity to maintain the ceasefire and that the strait needs to be reopened as quickly as possible. He said he was sure the strait would be high on the agenda in talks between China's leader Xi Jinping and Trump if it is still closed when Trump travels to Beijing this month. —Reuters
WASHINGTON —US President Donald Trump's administration argued that a ceasefire with Tehran had "terminated" hostilities as a legal deadline arrived on Friday for coming to Congress about the two-month Iran war.
Under the 1973 War Powers Resolution, the president can wage military action for only 60 days before ending it, asking Congress for authorization or seeking a 30-day extension due to "unavoidable military necessity regarding the safety of United States Armed Forces" while withdrawing forces.
The war began on February 28, when Israel and the US began airstrikes on Iran. On Friday, Iranian state news agency IRNA said Tehran had sent its latest proposal for negotiations with the US to Pakistani mediators.
Trump formally notified Congress of the conflict 48 hours after the first airstrikes, starting the 60-day clock that ends May 1.
As that date approached, congressional aides and analysts said they expected the Republican president to sidestep the deadline. A senior Trump administration official said on Thursday the administration's view was that the war powers law deadline did not apply.
"For War Powers Resolution purposes, the hostilities that began on Saturday, February ?28, have terminated," said the official, requesting anonymity while describing the administration's thinking.
No way out
Congressional Democrats, who have tried repeatedly to pass war powers legislation that would force Trump to end the war or come to Congress for authorization, dismissed that characterization, saying there was nothing in the 1973 law allowing for a ceasefire.
They also said the continuing deployment of US ships blockading Iranian oil exports was evidence of continuing hostility, not a ceasefire.
“After sixty days of conflict, President Trump still does not have a strategy or way out for this poorly planned war," Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement calling the deadline "a clear legal threshold" for Trump to act.
Party loyalty as election looms
Trump's fellow Republicans, who hold slim majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives and rarely break from Trump, have voted almost unanimously to block every resolution seeking to end the conflict.
The Iran war has killed thousands, caused billions of dollars in damage and roiled world markets, disrupting energy shipments and boosting a wide range of consumer prices.
Polls show the war is unpopular among Americans, six months before November elections that will determine who controls Congress next year.
Trump's approval rating sank to the lowest level of his current term this week, as Americans blamed the war for higher prices.
The US Constitution says only Congress, not the ?president, can ?declare war, but that restriction does not apply to ?short-term operations or to counter an immediate threat.
On Thursday, Trump received a briefing on plans for fresh military strikes to compel Iran to negotiate an end to the conflict.
If fighting resumes, Trump can tell lawmakers he has started a new 60-day clock. Presidents from both parties have repeatedly done so when waging intermittent hostilities since Congress passed the war powers law in response to the Vietnam War.
That conflict, widely unpopular with Americans, was also not authorized by Congress. —Reuters
Inanunsyo ng Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) ang panibagong batch ng Financial Assistance para sa Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) na apektado ng krisis sa Middle East, partikular sa Dubai at Northern Emirates.
Sa isang pahayag nitong Biyernes, ibinahagi ng DMW na opisyal nang binuksan muli ang aplikasyon para sa one-time financial assistance.
Kabuuang 1,000 slots ang inilaan at agad napuno nitong Biyernes. Gayunpaman, tiniyak ng DMW na muling magbubukas ang mga bagong slot sa Martes ng 8:00 am.
“The MWO Dubai will release applications in four batches, scheduled every Tuesday and Friday over a two-week period, to ensure a more orderly and accessible process,” ayon sa DMW.
Ipapamahagi ang payout na USD $200 hanggang AED 730 sa pamamagitan ng remittance sa bansa o sa mga sangay ng Al Ansari remittance centers na matatagpuan sa buong United Arab Emirates.
Ang sinumang OFW na nakatanggap na ng tulong kaugnay ng krisis sa ME ay hindi na kuwalipikado sa mga susunod na batch. --Jiselle Anne C. Casucian/FRJ GMA News
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