Sawt Falasteen - Cash handouts, fare hikes as Philippines battles soaring fuel costs

Since US-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered the Middle East war last month, the archipelago nation has implemented a four-day work week for civil servants, seen ferry schedules reduced in some areas, and begun eyeing the possibility of Russian oil imports.

As the drivers awaited their handouts Tuesday, officials unveiled a series of price hikes across a range of local transportation, including the ubiquitous smoke-belching jeepneys millions of Filipinos rely on to get to work each day.

But the increases did not extend to the country's hundreds of thousands of tricycle drivers, who earn money by carrying passengers down narrow, winding alleys on small motorbikes and carriages.

"These are the highest fuel prices I've ever experienced," said Romeo Cipriano, who has driven a tricycle for four decades.

The subsidy of 5,000 pesos ($84) would be "better than nothing", the 60-year-old said, describing how he had arrived at 6:00 am to avoid standing in the tropical heat, something his high blood pressure would not allow.

Al de Ocampo said his daily earnings had been halved from 1,000 to just 500 pesos in recent weeks.

The handout he received would last no more than a week, he told AFP.

"The price of fuel rose again today, but the fare is still the same," with customers unable to afford to pay any more, de Ocampo said.

"They must remove the fuel tax if possible... If they can't remove the tax entirely, then reduce it 50 percent. That would be a great help until the end of the war."

The Senate was expected to vote later in the day to grant President Ferdinand Marcos, who was on hand for the subsidy dispersal, the authority to temporarily suspend or reduce excise taxes on oil.

At a press briefing on Tuesday, Vigor Mendoza, chair of the country's transportation regulator, announced fare hikes that he said were "proof of... genuine concern" for both commuters and the embattled sector.

Most rides in jeepneys, the backbone of the country's transport system, were set to jump about eight percent on average, the regulator announced.

The Philippines, which depends almost entirely on the Middle East for its crude oil, is now also eyeing the possibility of purchasing from Russia, after a temporary easing of US restrictions on some oil sales following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

On Tuesday, Ramon Ang, CEO of the Philippines' sole oil refiner Petron, confirmed to AFP the company was "in talks" to potentially purchase Russian oil, while declining to provide details.

Patiently awaiting his subsidy at the Manila community centre, Cipriano said he could only pray for a quick end to the war.

"We're not the only ones affected," he said of his fellow drivers.

"No one wins in war."

L.Hussein--SF-PST