https://arab.news/935ur
- Philippines among hardest-hit by oil price rises caused by Iran war
- Households struggle with rising costs of transport, food, electricity
MANILA: With her family’s utility bills rising in the Philippines, Lordeth, a US-based caregiver, has lately been considering taking on an extra job.
Though with her current job enables her to send around $1,800 — half her salary — home every month, she is no longer certain that will be enough as prices continue to soar in her homeland.
“We really need to tighten our belts because life is difficult,” she told Arab News. “It’s painful and worrying. You start thinking about getting another job just to increase your income. It’s not necessary yet, but (it may be) in the future. That’s what scares me; that I might eventually need to take on another job.”
The spillover from a global oil crisis triggered by the US-Israeli war on Iran is disrupting life across the Philippines, further increasing economic uncertainties for the country’s 110 million inhabitants.
In March, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a national energy emergency over supply disruptions caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has spiked global fuel prices.
Almost three months since the start of the joint attack on Tehran by the US and Israel, the Philippines, which depends almost entirely on the Middle East for its crude oil imports, has been one of those hardest-hit by the energy-supply disruptions, with inflation jumping to 7.2 percent in April — the highest rate in three years.
As transport costs and energy bills surge for Filipinos and the price of food also shot up, many women — often the financial managers of their families — are now working harder to get their loved ones through the crisis.
As an overseas worker, Lordeth, 61, is responsible for a large group back home, including her mother, her daughter, her three siblings, and her nieces and nephews.
Over the past few months, the family’s water bill has doubled and their electricity bills have reached 10,000 Philippine pesos ($160), having previously been around 7,000 pesos. Before the crisis, her daughter was still able to save around 14,000 pesos from Lordeth’s income for emergencies. That is now down to around 3,000 pesos.
Lordeth has already taken on more hours at her current job and is reducing her expenses in the US, knowing that her family in the Philippines depend on her income.
“Honestly, if it were just me, I probably would have saved a lot of money by now. But my money isn’t just for myself, because they’re my family. How could I enjoy a comfortable life here while my family in the Philippines is struggling or going hungry? I wouldn’t be able to live with that,” she said.
With the cost of living increasing rapidly, many Filipinos are being forced to cut back on groceries and focus on essentials.
“Life was already hard, but because of what’s happening now in the Middle East it has become even harder because prices of goods continue to rise,” Dhalen Saturnino from Baguio city told Arab News. “Prices have gone up, but my (income) stayed the same … I try as much as I can to stretch whatever little budget I have.”
A mother of four, Saturnino has also been hustling to make sure her family stays afloat. While they mostly rely on her husband’s uncertain income as a private mining worker, Saturnino contributes about 7,500 Philippine pesos ($122) a month working as a community volunteer.
But the 49-year-old is always looking to earn more for her family, including by selling cosmetics or providing massage services.
“I work non-stop whenever possible, even at night if I can. But people tell me I’m already overworking myself,” she said. “I feel that I cannot give up. I need to strengthen my faith in the Lord even more. I need to stay strong.”
Her anxiety deepens every day as she thinks about the future of her younger children, who are still at school.
“It’s sad because, even though we ourselves are poor, there are still many people whose lives are even harder. It’s heartbreaking and frightening. You ask yourself: How will we survive like this? What about the others? You can see the number of malnourished people increasing because they’re eating less and less,” Saturnino said.
“The Middle East is far from us, but we are still affected. For now, we — my family — are still managing, somehow. I just hope things don’t get worse. That’s why I keep praying that the war will end, so the crisis will end too.”