LIVE UPDATES: Conflict in the Middle East (April 1, 2026)

The Philippines is committed to "deepening cooperation" with Iran, particularly on energy, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday as the import-dependent archipelago jockeys with other regional countries for desperately needed oil.

The price of fuel has hit historic highs in the Philippines since treaty ally the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, with the war forcing the partial closure of the vital Strait of Hormuz.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. declared a state of national energy emergency last week, later saying that "nothing was off the table" as the country of 116 million tried to meet its need for fuel.

The volume of passengers at the ports for Holy Week may not reach the projected 2.46 million due to the effect of the oil price hikes, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said Wednesday.

At the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing, PPA spokesperson Eunice Samonte said the PPA had anticipated a 1.70% increase from 2025’s 2.41 million passengers.

However, the effects of the oil price hikes as a result of the Middle East conflict have significantly reduced the number of travelers at the sea ports.

“As of Palm Sunday hanggang ngayon, mayroon na po tayong more than half a million passengers,” said Samonte.

Securing loans remains an option for the government in funding the proposed Bayanihan 3 measure, which aims to provide aid packages to the public amid rising oil prices, House ways and means panel chairman and Marikina 2nd District Rep. Miro Quimbo said.

“I don’t think we need to borrow money for Bayanihan 3, but again, it’s going to be the call of the Executive to identify what needs to be done,” Quimbo told reporters.

“This is a balancing act. Running the economy is like running a business. You cannot be content with whatever money you have available,” he added.

Quimbo, however, cited the role of borrowing in sustaining and growing the economy.

“Kung alam mo naman para mag-survive o para mas lumaki ang kita, kailangan mo rin umutang. Walang negosyo na hindi umutang,” he said.

(If you know that borrowing is necessary to survive or grow, then you also have to take loans. No business or government avoids borrowing.)

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has recommended providing P1,500 monthly financial aid for minimum wage earners who are suffering from the rising prices of fuel and other commodities amid the tensions in the Middle East. 

Gatchalian, who chairs the Proactive Response and Oversight for Timely and Effective Crisis Strategy (PROTECT) committee, pointed out in his preliminary report that the Middle East crisis causes workers to lose purchasing power as prices rise faster than wages.

According to data from GMA News Research, an estimated 2,443,700 Filipinos are residing in the Middle East as of March 2026.

As of March 2026, repatriation efforts remain ongoing for Filipinos who wish to return home amid the conflict.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has set aside over one billion pesos for a program aimed at providing income augmentation for public transportation workers to be affected by rising fuel prices amid the global oil crisis.

At the Kapihan sa Manila Hotel, DOLE Undersecretary Benedicto Ernesto Bitonio said that the Labor Department has a “special initiative” in together with the Department of Transportation (DOTr), which will be piloted starting next week.

“We are developing this program that we are supporting… this would be for income augmentation of jeepney drivers,” Bitonio said.

WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday Washington could see the "finish line" in the Iran war, which is now in its fifth week, and the US will have to reexamine ties with NATO after the conflict.

"We can see the finish line. It's not today, it's not tomorrow, but it is coming," Rubio told Fox News Channel's "Hannity" show.

The war began on February 28 when the US and Israel attacked Iran. Tehran responded by launching its own attacks on Israel and Gulf states with US bases.

 

KATHMANDU— Nepal has increased aviation fuel prices by up to 117.4% for international flights, effective after midnight on Tuesday.

State-run Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) said increases of 84.7%, 116.2% and 117.4% for international flights from Kathmandu, Pokhara and Bhairahawa, respectively, were needed to make payments to Indian Oil Corporation IOC.NS on time and avoid further supply disruptions.

Prices for domestic flights have been increased by 97.6%, NOC said.

Nepal increased petrol and diesel prices by 9.55% and 7.0%, respectively, and started rationing cooking gas earlier this month.

Wedged between India and China, Nepal is fully dependent on imports for fuel supplies, including cooking gas. — Reuters

Read more:
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/world/982197/nepal-raises-aviation-fuel-prices-citing-middle-eastern-conflict/story/
More stories: https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/ Follow us: https://www.facebook.com/gmanews/

The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) announced Wednesday that it is offering a three-month moratorium on the payment of loans of its members and pensioners as the country reels from the impact of the heightened tensions in the Middle East. 

In a Facebook post, the GSIS said that under its Balik Ginhawa Program, it will refund three month’s worth of loan payments directly to the accounts of the applicants for immediate use. 

This would cover December 2025 to February 2026 period, with no added interest or penalties. 

 

BEIRUT - At least seven people were killed and 24 wounded in two Israeli strikes in the Beirut area, the Lebanese health ministry said on Wednesday, in attacks that hit vehicles in Beirut's southern outskirts and in an area just south of the capital.

The strikes are the latest in an escalating Israeli offensive in Lebanon which has killed at least 1,200 people and displaced 1.2 million others. Lebanon was pulled into the war in the Middle East when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in solidarity with Tehran, two days after Iran was attacked by Israel and the United States. Hezbollah's attack prompted a new Israeli ground and air offensive.

Israel's military said on Wednesday it carried out two separate strikes targeting a senior Hezbollah commander and another senior member of the Iran-aligned group in the Beirut area, but did not identify them or say whether they had been killed.

Lebanon's state news agency NNA reported that one strike hit a vehicle in the Khaldeh area south of Beirut, killing two people and wounding three others. A second strike hit vehicles in Beirut's Jnah area, where the health ministry said at least five people were killed and 21 wounded.

There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah on the strikes. —Reuters