The administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is preparing a new round of fuel assistance under the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT) program to help vulnerable sectors cope with rising global oil prices. Benchmark Brent crude hit $100 per barrel on September 9, its first move past that mark since July, as tension between the United States and Iran flared anew.
Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said farmers and fisherfolk will be the initial targets of the fresh UPLIFT tranche. He said a large share of their operating costs goes toward fuel for equipment such as palay harvesters and motorized bancas, making them among the groups most exposed to oil price swings.
Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said the Department of Transportation (DOTr) continues to look for ways to soften the impact of higher global oil prices on the public transport sector and on commuters. The department is studying whether to widen the existing fuel subsidy, currently limited to public utility jeepneys and UV Express units, to cover other modes of public transport.
Separately, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board is holding consultations on pending fare-hike petitions from transport groups.
The government is also considering restoring toll waivers for vehicles transporting agricultural products from Northern and Southern Luzon into Metro Manila, a measure previously used to lower logistics costs for farm goods during earlier bouts of fuel price volatility this year.
The new round builds on assistance already disbursed this year. In August, the government raised the per-liter fuel discount for jeepney and UV Express drivers from ₱10 to ₱12, a move that allowed eligible drivers to save up to ₱1,800 a week and had by then reached more than 93,000 public utility vehicle drivers nationwide. In his fifth State of the Nation Address in July, Marcos said the government had allotted more than ₱60 billion through the end of 2026 for programs shielding affected sectors from fuel and food cost increases.
UPLIFT was formed earlier this year as part of a whole-of-government response to the lingering Middle East crisis and its effect on global oil supply. The Department of Agriculture and the DOTr have yet to announce a specific amount, timeline, or list of qualified beneficiaries for the new tranche.
