The Department of Agriculture is preparing to release financial assistance and fuel subsidies to farmers in the Negros Island Region soon to mitigate the spike in fuel prices, DA NIR Director Jose Albert Barrogo said Friday, March 27.
Meanwhile, fuel prices are expected to post smaller increases next week as tensions in the Middle East show signs of easing, an industry official said Friday.
Jetti Petroleum President Leo Bellas, in an advisory, said diesel prices are projected to increase by PHP11 to PHP12/liter, while gasoline prices are forecast to rise by up to PHP3/liter.
This follows a sharp spike this week, when fuel prices surged by nearly PHP20/liter.
Barrogo said Rice Farmers Financial Assistance will be given to NIR farmers cultivating two hectares and below as soon as possible.
The NIR will also get a share of the P10 billion fund for the Presidential Assistance to Farmers and Fisherfolk (PAFF) Program, he added.
Fuel subsidies will also be given to farmers, about 736 of whom have been identified in Negros Occidental, Barrogo said.
The fuel subsidy will be released to farmers and cooperatives who have been given farm machinery, Barrogo said.
However, the amount has not been determined yet, he added.
Meanwhile, “the relatively lower increase on diesel and easing of gasoline prices next week, although still remaining at elevated levels, are driven by de-escalation signals in the Middle East conflict, resulting to a drop in crude oil price benchmarks,” the Jetti Petroleum president said.
“Gasoline prices, which closely track crude and regional supply risks, softened as fears of prolonged supply outages are somewhat reduced,” he said in a Philippines News Agency (PNA) report.
“While gasoline has shown relative easing, diesel often moves differently and more sharply due to distillate supply tightness,” Bellas added
Despite the projected slowdown in price increases, fuel supply remains at risk. Government officials and power sector executives have continued to urge consumers to conserve energy to help extend existing supply, the PNA report said.
Malacañang has already declared a state of national energy emergency to strengthen measures aimed at securing domestic supply and aiding sectors most affected by the situation, PNA said.*
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