Fresh Mideast tensions spur higher pump prices By Lenie Lectura
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DIPLOMACY IN MANILA ASEAN foreign ministers meet with representatives of the ASEAN
Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) during a consultative meeting in Manila on Monday, July 20, 2026, ahead of a series of high-level regional talks. More than 1,000 delegates from 62 countries across Asia-Pacific, Europe, Africa and the Americas are participating in one of the year's largest diplomatic gatherings, with top diplomats from ASEAN's dialogue partners—including the United States, China, Russia, the European Union, Japan, South Korea, India, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom—expected to join the meetings. Story in A3 Nation. ASEAN
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OCAL pump prices are on the rise this week, brought about by the heightened tensions in the Middle East. Starting Tuesday, gasoline prices are expected to increase by P3.65 per liter, while diesel will be sold at P10.68 per liter more. Kerosene will shoot up by P11.77 per liter. The numbers were released by the Department of Energy (DOE) on Monday. Oil companies implement weekly price adjustments to reflect movements in the world oil market. World oil prices are rising due to an elevated geopolitical risk premium following Iranian attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and subsequent US retaliatory strikes.
DOE Secretary Sharon Garin said the government is actively taking all legal measures to protect consumers from rising global oil prices caused by heightened tensions and renewed bombing in the Middle East. While global supply chain disruptions cannot be controlled, domestic measures are actively working to ease the impact on consumers. “The DOE is on top of the situation...we can’t change the direction of the global market but we can act on how it reaches our people and there are measures already working to ease impact,” Garin said during Monday’s news conference. These include fuel subsidies for qualified jeepney and UV Express drivers, as well as other eligible beneficiaries. As of July 20, 2026, a total of 2,734 gasoline stations nationwide are participating in the government’s fuel subsidy program. Of
these, 503 are located in the National Capital Region, 502 in North Luzon, 673 in Southern Luzon, 484 in Visayas, and 550 in Mindanao. “This program offers a discount of P10 per liter on fuel purchased weekly for each jeepney. They have an allowance of 1,500 liters; so, if they consume that full amount within the week, the allocation resets the following week, and the P10-per-liter discount applies again,” Garin explained. Crucially, the country’s fuel supply and inventories remain completely adequate and sufficient. DOE data showed that gasoline supply will last 43 days; diesel, 45 days; kerosene, 139 days; jet fuel, 82 days; fuel oil, 28 days; and LPG, 34 days. “Let me assure the public on the point that matters most. Our fuel supply is sufficient. Inventories remain adequate. Filipinos can go
about their normal routines and operations with confidence....We are still above our legally required 30 days,” said Garin. The renewed tensions in the Middle East will not prompt the government to place fuel orders yet. “Maybe not yet, but we are constantly monitoring if the need will arise,” said DOE Undersecretary Alessandro Sales. Asked for an update on the planned strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) with the Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) and the Philippine National Oil Company (PNO), Sales said “It is progressing.” “Also, all elements to start the storage tanks are there. In fact, there are interested entities, both public and private entities, who want to participate. So, this initiative is ongoing, and we are going to moving forward with it,” said Sales. See “Oil prices,” A9
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Tuesday, July 21, 2026 Vol. 21 No. 280
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 20 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
PHL electric rates in June highest in Asean–DOE
By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan
OOSTING the adoption of digital payments in the country will help Filipinos “evolve” and fulfill their “unmet needs” such as access to responsible credit, insurance, savings, and investments, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) head of Payments and Currency Management Sector. Two weeks after the central bank imposed BSP Circular No. 1238— the measure which has prompted banks and e-wallets to lower or waive their transfer fees—Mamerto E. Tangonan, BSP Deputy Governor for Payments and Cur-
By Lenie Lectura
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rency Management Sector, briefed reporters on the rationale behind the circular, how it complements the previous initiatives of the payments and currency management sector, and what these mean to See “BSP,” A2
GEN Z WORKERS: LOWEST JOB HAPPINESS, HIGH STRESS LEVELS By Mary Jade Jadormio
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ILIPINO Gen Z workers are entering the workforce with a strong demand for meaningful work and flexibility, but they are also reporting the highest levels of stress and the lowest workplace happiness among generations, a new study from Jobstreet by SEEK said. The study Workplace Happiness Index: Philippines 2025 showed that Gen Z workers aged 18 to 29 posted the lowest workplace happiness score at 76 percent, trailing millennials at 77 percent and Gen X workers at 78 percent.
Nearly four in 10 Gen Z respondents said they often dread going to work, reflecting the higher levels of stress and emotional exhaustion experienced by the country’s youngest workforce. The report found that purpose remains the strongest factor influencing Gen Z workers’ workplace satisfaction, with 76 percent saying they are satisfied with the meaning they find in their jobs. Work-from-home arrangements ranked second at 73 percent, while satisfaction with company success followed at 72 See “Gen Z,” A2
PUMP PRICES CLIMB A gasoline attendant services a vehicle at a fuel station along
Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City on Monday, July 20, 2026. Motorists brace for another steep increase in fuel prices this week, with diesel expected to rise by up to P10.68 per liter amid supply concerns triggered by the escalating US-Iran conflict. NONOY LACZA
REFLECTING MARKET SENTIMENT The Philippine Stock Exchange logo is reflected against the Bonifacio Global City skyline at the PSE
headquarters in Taguig on Monday, July 20, 2026. Heavyweight buying pushed the benchmark PSEi higher by 11.61 points, or 0.18 percent, to close at 6,415.72 on value turnover of P5.90 billion. NONIE REYES
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HE country’s June nationwide average electricity rate reached P12.43 per kilowatt hour (kWh), making it the highest in Southeast Asia for that month, according to the Department of Energy (DOE). “In Asean, we had the highest electricity rate for the month of June. We were even higher than Singapore,” said DOE undersecretary Rowena Guevara during an online news briefing Monday. Singapore’s average rate was P0.093 per kWh lower. The DOE official attributed this to the rising electricity rate in the Visayas region which suffered the highest rates due to a severe supply shortage, caused by 21 power plants going on forced outage. “The main reason, particularly in the Visayas, is that electricity there is the most expensive because of a supply shortage. We had 21 power plants on forced outage, making the region dependent on imported power from Luzon and Mindanao. The Visayas has also been under yellow alert since May 13, and that has driven prices higher,” said Guevara. Related story in B8 News. A total of 60 yellow alerts were hoisted over the Visayas power grid from the start of the year up to July 17. For the rest of the country, demand was also high during the summer months. As a result, more expensive power plants were dispatched to avoid blackouts. For July, Guevara could not yet say if the country will still be charging the highest power rates. “The July data will remain unknown until July 26,” she said. By accelerating the integration of new renewable energy (RE) supplies, the DOE’s Task Force 200 mitigates rate spikes and reduces the country’s reliance on imported fossil fuels. “Of course, we always say electricity is expensive because we still lack supply. But Task Force 200 can help because many renewable energy projects have already entered the grid, as reported earlier,” she added. Last month, the agency reported the completion of 400 energy projects this year under Task Force 200, adding 1.5 gigawatts (GW) of capacity. See “Rates,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 61.5870 n JAPAN 0.3793 n UK 82.8284 n HK 7.8553 n CHINA 9.0901 n SINGAPORE 47.7049 n AUSTRALIA 42.9077 n EU 70.4001 n KOREA 0.0414 n SAUDI ARABIA 16.4004 Source: BSP (July 20, 2026)