Amid concerns over the effects of rising oil prices due to the Middle East crisis, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said Saturday the prices of basic consumer goods have remained steady but might start rising in the second half of April.
Trade Secretary Cristina Roque said the DTI has yet to monitor upticks in the prices of basic necessities and prime commodities.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Saturday clarified that the projection that retail prices of pork and chicken could spike to over P500 per kilo and P300 per kilo, respectively, was merely a projection for a “worst-case scenario” if the escalating Middle East tensions causing a global oil price shock would be prolonged.
“We are not expecting na aabot sa ganu'n (it will reach that situation),” DA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said at a news forum in Quezon City.
The DA official was referring to the agency’s projection, made during a Senate hearing last Tuesday, that pork could hit P580 per kilo and chicken could go up to P349 per kilo if the price of crude oil hits $200 per barrel and the war in the Middle East persists until August.
De Mesa said that the “worst-case scenario” projection assumes the government will not intervene.
“Ngayon naman punong-puno ang cold storages ng both local at imported na karne,” he said.
(As of now, the cold storages are packed with both local and imported meat.)
In an interview on Super Radyo dzBB earlier on Saturday, the DA official also clarified that the projection was based on purely local production and did not take into account the supply of imported meat.
During the forum, de Mesa said the DA is eyeing to start distribution of cash aid, amounting to P2,325 to 4.175 million farmers and fisherfolk, by April 6 as the agency expects that the P10-billion Presidential Assistance to Farmers and Fisherfolk (PAFF) Program will be released by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) by April 2.
Apart from the PAFF, the Agriculture Department is also tapping its P1 billion quick response fund (QRF) which was activated following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s declaration of a state of national energy emergency.
De Mesa said the QRF will be used to procure farm inputs and fertilizers to help farmers cope with rising fertilizer prices due to the fuel crisis. —Ted Cordero/KG, GMA Integrated News
CAIRO/PARIS - Israel said on Saturday it had detected a missile fired from Yemen, the first since the Iran war began, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US expected to conclude military operations within weeks, not months.
A month after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, the conflict has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands and causing the biggest disruption ever to energy supplies, hitting the global economy and fueling inflation fears.
While Israel said it was again hitting targets across Iran's capital on Saturday, it identified what it said was a missile launched from Yemen.
Risk of broadening war
Hours earlier, Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said they were prepared to act if what the group called an escalation against Iran and the "axis of resistance" continued, but did not say what form any intervention would take.
Houthi involvement in the war would risk broadening the conflict, given their ability to strike targets far beyond Yemen and disrupt shipping lanes around the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea, which they had done in support of Hamas in Gaza after October 7, 2023.
Rubio told reporters after meeting Group of Seven counterparts in France that Washington was "on or ahead of schedule in that operation, and expect to conclude it at the appropriate time here — a matter of weeks, not months".
The war has driven a wedge between the US and its traditional allies, who have stayed on the sidelines. President Donald Trump said this lack of support had implications for NATO, the West's most important alliance.
"We would have always been there for them, but now, based on their actions, I guess we don't have to be, do we?" Trump told an investment forum in Miami on Friday. "Why would we be there for them if they're not there for us? They weren't there for us."
The charter underlying the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which has long been led by the US, says an attack on one member is an attack on all, requiring them to support each other.
Rubio said European and Asian countries that benefit from trade through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital choke point largely blocked by Iran, should contribute to efforts to secure free passage.
While he said the US could achieve its aims without ground troops, he acknowledged it was deploying some to the region "to give the president maximum optionality and maximum opportunity to adjust the contingencies, should they emerge".
Washington has dispatched two contingents of thousands of Marines to the region, the first of which is due to arrive in coming days on a huge amphibious assault ship. The Pentagon is also expected to deploy thousands of elite airborne soldiers.
The deployments have raised concerns that the war could turn into a prolonged ground battle.
More strikes while Trump speaks of negotiations
Stock markets tumbled sharply on Friday while the Brent crude oil benchmark LCOc1 topped $112, having risen more than 50% since the war began.
In the US, where Trump is politically vulnerable to rising fuel prices, diesel in California hit a record average high of $7.17 a gallon, the American Automobile Association said.
Trump has appeared eager to wind down the unpopular war, emphasizing this week what he called productive negotiations aimed at a diplomatic solution — despite repeated assertions from Tehran that no such talks have begun. On Thursday, Trump extended a deadline by 10 days for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face attacks against its civilian energy grid.
While those strikes were on hold, missiles and drones continued to rain down across the region.
An Iranian attack on an air base in Saudi Arabia wounded 12 US military personnel, two seriously, a US official told Reuters on Friday, as drones and missiles continued to strike around the Gulf.
Israel's military said on Saturday it had detected incoming missiles from Iran, and Syrian state television reported explosions heard above the capital Damascus from Israeli intercepts of the Iranian missiles.
The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain also reported missile attacks early on Saturday, with five people injured and fires reported after a missile was intercepted near Abu Dhabi's KEZAD economic zone.
At least five people were killed and seven injured after a US-Israeli attack on a residential unit in Iran's northwestern city of Zanjan, Iranian media reported early on Saturday. The Iran University of Science and Technology in Tehran was also struck, media reported.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on X that Israel, in coordination with the US, had also hit two steel factories and a power plant. "Attack contradicts POTUS extended deadline for diplomacy. Iran will exact HEAVY price for Israeli crimes," Araqchi said on Friday, using an acronym for president of the United States. —Reuters
A jeepney driver in Zambales asked his passengers for additional fare if they are able, but at the same time offered free rides to those in need.
"Mga Ate/Kuya, Ma'm/Sir, May ipapakisuyo po sana ako sa inyo baka pwede pong magpadagdag sa inyo ng pamasahe, Kahit magkano lang po yung bukal po sa loob nyo," the driver said in a sign posted inside his jeepney, as shared by YouScooper Renz Salonga.
(Dear Sister/Brother, Ma'm/Sir, I have a favor to ask of you. If it is possible, please give an additional fare. Any amount would do, as long as it is from your heart.)
The rising cost of fuel, particularly diesel, has made it difficult for him and other jeepney drivers, he said.
"Kasi po hindi na naming kaya yung laki ng diesel namin at halos barya na lang naiuuwi sa kada byahe (It's because we can not bear the hefty increase in the price of diesel and we get to bring home only small change per trip)," the driver explained.
"Sa panahon po ng krisis ngayon, walang ibang magtutulungan kundi tayo, tayo lang (In this time of crisis, there is no one who can help us but just us alone)," he said.
The driver however promised to help those in need, saying he can give free rides to those who ask.
"At ganoon din po ako sa inyo, if ever na kulang pamasahe nyo or wala kayong pamasahe, magsabi lang po kayo sa akin isasakay ko po kayo. Maraming salamat po sa pang unawa niyo," he said.
(And likewise, I can help. If ever you don't have enough money for fare, or do not have money at all, just tell me and I will let you ride for free. Thank you very much for your understanding.)
Salonga, who boarded the said jeepney at President Ramon Magsaysay State University to go home, said the jeepney driver's appeal opened his eyes to the reality that public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers are undergoing hardship amid the continued rise in the prices of fuel products as a result of the tension in the Middle East.
"This post was never meant to blame anyone, gusto ko lang magbigay ng awareness and hopefully inspire kindness and willingness to help, kahit sa simpleng paraan," Salonga said.
(I just wanted to create awareness and hopefully inspire kindness and willingness to help, even in just a simple way.)
Diesel prices have been going up — double digit each week — since the US and Israel attacked Iran.
Citing estimates based on Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) trading in the past four days, an oil industry source said the pump price of diesel may go up by P11 to P12 per liter.
This projection could bring up the per liter price of diesel to P118 to P146.3 per liter next week.
The Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev) has warned that the inflation rate could shoot up to double-digit levels with diesel prices seen rising by 176% under a “most severe scenario” if crude hits $200 per barrel amid the Middle East crisis.
Although the government has been giving fuel subsidy to PUV drivers, transport groups said drivers' take-home pay has become smaller due to the fuel price increases. —KG, GMA Integrated News
WASHINGTON - Twelve US troops were wounded, two of them seriously, in an Iranian military strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, a US official told Reuters on Friday.
The latest casualties add to the more than 300 US military service members who have been wounded since the war against Iran started on February 28.
Earlier on Friday, the US military said 273 of them had already returned to duty.
Thirteen US troops have been killed in the conflict. —Reuters
DUBAI/WASHINGTON/PARIS - The US expects its military operations against Iran to conclude within weeks, not months, and Washington can meet all its objectives without using ground troops, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday.
Rubio told reporters after meeting G7 counterparts in France that Washington was "on or ahead of schedule in that operation, and expect to conclude it at the appropriate time here - a matter of weeks, not months."
While he said Washington could achieve its aims without ground troops, he acknowledged it was deploying some to the region "to give the president maximum optionality and maximum opportunity to adjust the contingencies, should they emerge."
Rubio discussed with G7 foreign ministers the possibility that Iran, even after the conflict ends, could try to impose shipping tolls through the Strait of Hormuz. Rubio said European and Asian countries that benefit from trade through the waterway should contribute to efforts to secure free passage, downplaying US dependence on the trade.
Marines en route
Washington has dispatched two contingents of thousands of Marines to the region, the first of which is due to arrive around the end of March aboard a huge amphibious assault ship. The Pentagon is also expected to deploy thousands of elite airborne soldiers.
The deployments have raised concerns that the war, which the US and Israel launched on February 28 with airstrikes that killed Iran's supreme leader and other top officials, could turn into a prolonged ground battle. Iran's response, striking US and Israeli targets in the region as well as civilian targets in Gulf Arab nations and shipping, has disrupted global trade in energy and other commodities, raising fears of rising prices and recession.
US President Donald Trump has appeared anxious to wind down the unpopular war, and emphasized this week what he has described as productive negotiations aimed at a diplomatic solution, despite repeated assertions from Tehran that no such talks have begun. On Thursday, Trump extended a deadline by 10 days for Iran to reopen the blockaded Strait of Hormuz or face attacks against its civilian energy grid.
Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said the US was hopeful of meetings with Iran within a week and that he expects an Iranian response soon to Trump’s 15-point proposal to end the war. Witkoff said there were clear red lines for the US, including no uranium enrichment by Iran and the country giving up what he said was 10,000 kilograms of enriched stockpiled material.
New strikes on Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia
Iranian media reported strikes on Iran's decommissioned heavy-water nuclear research reactor and a factory producing yellowcake uranium late on Friday, and said there were no radiation leaks or danger arising from either attack. Iran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency there was no increase in off-site radiation levels at the yellowcake facility, the IAEA said on X, adding that it would look into the report.
There were also reports of an attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant, which Iranian media said left no casualties or extensive damage.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on X that Israel, in coordination with the US, had also hit two steel factories and a power plant. "Attack contradicts POTUS extended deadline for diplomacy. Iran will exact HEAVY price for Israeli crimes," Araqchi said, using an acronym for the president.
A senior Iranian told Reuters that Tehran had not decided whether to respond to the proposal the US sent this week after attacks on industrial and nuclear infrastructure on Friday. The official said Iran had expected its response to be delivered on Friday or Saturday, but said the continuing strikes while the US was seeking talks were "intolerable."
The US proposal, sent via Pakistan two days ago, is reported to include demands ranging from dismantling Iran's nuclear and missile programmes to relinquishing control of the world's most important trade route for energy supplies.
The war has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands of people and causing the biggest disruption ever to energy supplies, hitting the global economy with soaring oil, gas and fertilizer prices that have fueled inflation fears.
In Iran, more than 1,900 people have been killed and at least 20,000 injured, said Maria Martinez of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Attacks on Israel by Iran's Lebanese ally Hezbollah have also prompted an Israeli onslaught that has displaced a fifth of Lebanon's population.
The Israeli military said late Friday Iran had launched missiles towards Israel. A 60-year-old man was killed in the Tel Aviv area, the ambulance service said.
The Wall Street Journal, citing US and Saudi sources, reported that an Iranian missile and drones wounded several American military members and damaged several American refueling aircraft at the Prince Sultan airbase in Saudi Arabia. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said they were ready to intervene militarily under certain conditions, including if new allies join the United States and Israel in their war against Iran or if the Red Sea is used to launch attacks on Iran.
Iran still possesses missiles
The US, which has set out to neutralize Iran's long-range strike capabilities, can only confirm that about a third of the country's missile arsenal has been destroyed, five people familiar with the US intelligence told Reuters.
As the damage mounts and with no end in sight, Gulf Arab states are telling the US that any deal must not merely end the war but also permanently curb Iran's missile and drone capabilities and ensure global energy supplies are never again weaponized, four Gulf sources said.
Stock markets continued their slide on Friday, while the Brent crude oil benchmark LCOc1 topped $112, having risen more than 50% since the war began.
In the US, where Trump is politically vulnerable to rising fuel prices, diesel in California hit an all-time high at an average $7.17 a gallon, the American Automobile Association said. —Reuters
Bus companies plying the Baguio route have reduced trips by 30% to 50% amid rising oil prices in the country.
According to the Baguio City Public Information Office on Friday, Police Lieutenant Colonel James Allen Dogao, chief of the Baguio City Police Office – Traffic Enforcement Unit (BCPO-TEU), said that regular trips have increased their intervals to two hours or more per trip instead of the usual 30 minutes to one hour during the busiest travel months.
Dogao also observed a drop in the number of vehicles inside and outside the city.
However, bus companies promised to resume their regular trips if there is an increase in tourists during the Holy Week break and dry season, he added. —Jiselle Anne Casucian/VBL, GMA Integrated News
GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
