WHAT appears on the surface as a distant geopolitical issue that seems oceans away from our archipelago—the ongoing conflict in the Middle East—has gradually crept its way into Filipino households and the daily lives of our ordinary citizens. To most, the ever-changing price boards at gasoline stations are not mere inconveniences, but rather drastic costs that make or break whether one gets through the day with even a penny to spare. 

As global tensions ripple across global markets, the burden lands unevenly, pressing hardest on those already hanging by a loose thread. At the heart of this unfolding crisis lies a grim question: in times of global instability, who truly gets left behind?

The Philippines, heavily dependent on imported oil, with around 98 percent of its reserves coming from exports, largely from the Middle East, is especially vulnerable to disruptions in global supply. 

Data shows that the country is among the worst-hit countries in Southeast Asia in terms of rising fuel prices, with Department of Energy Secretary Sharon Garin noting that our Asian neighbors subsidize fuel to lower costs for consumers, “Ibig sabihin… Parang subsidized lang ‘yung presyo. ‘Pag bumibili ka sa gas station, may binabayaran ang gobyerno diyan para hindi napakataas ‘yung presyo,” Garin said.

The Energy Secretary also emphasized that the country’s downstream oil industry is deregulated, stating that the government does not dictate the fluctuating prices of fuel; instead, these are determined by competition between private companies, alongside other factors such as the collection of excise and value-added tax (VAT) on fuel.

Unlike its neighbors, the country essentially has no functional buffer or protection in response to these crises. As a result, whatever fluctuation or volatility in global oil prices will immediately be felt by the consumers.

In response, the Philippine government has rolled out several measures to cushion the rising oil prices. Secretary Garin, the Department of Finance, and other authorities have mentioned that the country is seeking alternative ways of procuring oil supply, while assuring the citizens that we have sufficient oil reserves that will last the country more than a month. 

On March 24, just a day after the President’s spokesperson said there was “no oil crisis”, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed an executive order declaring a “state of national energy emergency” for up to a year.

The following day, March 25, he further addressed the issue by signing Republic Act No. 12316 into law, granting him the powers to suspend or reduce excise tax on petroleum products when Dubai crude oil price reaches or exceeds US$80 per barrel for one month amid rising oil prices driven by the Middle East crisis, and will remain until December 31, 2028. 

Yet amid these mounting challenges, the government’s response has often been criticized as reactive rather than proactive. Fuel subsidies for transport workers, while helpful in the short term, function more as temporary relief than lasting solutions. 

The administration wants to show its citizens that it’s “doing something” to address the crisis, yet these politically convenient “band-aid” solutions do little to address the structural vulnerabilities of the Philippine economy as a whole. It doesn’t even reach the right people to begin with, those in need and at the margins

It reeks of desperation rather than direction. Our leading figures don’t aim to prevent such crises from befalling the public; instead, we “brace” for their impact.

To ask people to simply endure is to normalize a system where the most vulnerable are the most expendable. It is to accept that in times of global crisis, there will always be those left behind—and that they will quietly remain there, while the cycle continues.

Because at the heart of it all is a simple truth: the cost is never shared equally. The ones lying in the margins suffer the most dire of fates, while those up top are simply inconvenienced.

And until that changes, the question will continue to echo—not just in times of crisis, but in the everyday lives of the millions of Filipinos:

Who gets left behind?