Benise Balaoing

Fuel prices are displayed at a gasoline station in Quezon City on April 7, following another round of fuel price hikes. Oil companies raised gasoline prices by as much as P5.90 per liter and diesel by up to P19.80 per liter, marking one of the largest increases in recent weeks. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

OIL PRICE HIKE

Michelle Ong

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HWeIhNhiNlI?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>MANILA — The Philippines is one of the countries hardest hit by the oil price shock caused by the war in Iran, but the country can weather this shock, the head of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said.</p><p>&quot;I would say we&#x27;re indeed one of the hardest hit by this oil price shock,&quot; said BSP Governor Eli Remolona. &quot;Some of our neighbors have their own oil, they export oil, whereas we import all our oil.&quot;</p><p>&quot;So we&#x27;re hard-hit, but this is a region that&#x27;s one of the fastest growing regions in the world, so this is a region that can weather this kind of shock,&quot; he said.</p><p>The Bangko Sentral on Thursday raised interest rates for the first time since October 2023 amid quickening inflation following the war launched by the US and Israel against Iran. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/4/23/bsp-hikes-interest-rates-amid-accelerating-inflation-1433" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">BSP hikes interest rates amid accelerating inflation</a></div><p>&quot;We&#x27;re trying to be proactive, we&#x27;re trying to stay ahead of the curve,&quot; Remolona said when asked why the Philippines cut rates ahead of its peers. &quot;I think it&#x27;s less risky to stay ahead of the curve than lag behind.&quot;</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s less disruptive, because to catch up, you&#x27;ll need bigger rate hikes if you&#x27;re in a catch-up mode,&quot; he said.</p><p>The official also said he thinks the government is responding well to the situation.</p><p>&quot;I think the response will be more than adequate. I expect the fiscal side will start to provide stimulus so that we can get closer to our potential in terms of growth,&quot; Remolona said.</p><p>&quot;I think the fiscal side slowed down in 2025 in an effort to discipline spending. But I see that controls are now in place, and I think the fiscal side is ready to resume spending,&quot; he added.</p><p>The economy grew at its <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/1/29/philippines-gdp-fourth-quarter-2025-below-target-1012">slowest</a> non-pandemic pace in 14 years in 2025, as the government put the brakes on spending amid a corruption scandal.</p><p>Remolona also said he does not see the rate hike hurting financial stability in the Philippines.</p><p>&quot;At this point, financial stability has not become an issue. Credit growth is still pretty strong, I&#x27;d say, 9 percent a year, and banks are still in very good shape,&quot; Remolona said.</p><p>&quot;They have a lot of capital, and they have a lot of liquidity. So the banking sector, I think, is very resilient and ready to support growth,&quot; he added.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/4/24/fitch-unit-sees-more-bsp-rate-hikes-in-2026-1213">Fitch unit sees more BSP rate hikes in 2026</a></div>

<p>The Philippines is one of the countries hardest hit by the oil price shock caused by the war in Iran, but the country can weather this shock, the Bangko Sentral governor said.</p>

The Philippines is one of the countries hardest hit by the oil price shock caused by the war in Iran, but the country can weather this shock, the Bangko Sentral governor said.

Philippines one of 'hardest hit' by oil price shocks but can bounce back: BSP

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Philippines one of 'hardest hit' by oil price shocks but can bounce back: BSP

Benise Balaoing,

Michelle Ong,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 24, 2026 05:26 PM PHT

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Updated April 24, 2026 09:38 PM PHT

Read More:

oil prices

Bangko Sentral

inflation

interest rates

economi growth

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