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Leaders cautiously hail truce; PBBM: Time to hike fuel supply By Charles Dantes and Katrina Manubay WORLD leaders welcomed the twoweek ceasefire between the United States and Iran, mostly with cautious optimism and calls for turning the truce into a workable peace deal.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday welcomed the declaration of a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran that was tied to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which he said could ease fuel supply pressures and help lower oil prices in the Philippines.
VOL. XL • NO. 54 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 • THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2026
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Fragile ceasefire holds, for now Iran strikes Gulf States, Israel hits Lebanon ahead of Friday’s talks • Wary of US, IRG says ‘finger on the trigger’ • Vance: Don’t mess around with Trump
SHAKY CEASEFIRE. A
fireball rises from a building hit by an Israeli airstrike in the area of Abbasiyeh, on the outskirts of the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, on April 8, 2026. Israel said the US ceasefire with Iran did not include its conflict with Hezbollah. AFP
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CEASEFIRE between the United States and Iran appeared to be holding yesterday after the rivals agreed a two-week truce to the war that has killed thousands and hammered the global economy.
The truce, however, was shaky, with Iran hitting Gulf States and Israel attacking Lebanon. Several Gulf nations endured fresh attacks just hours after ceasefire announcement. The strikes on Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates came as two ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran agreed to temporarily reopen the strategic waterway. There was also no let-up to fighting in Lebanon where Israel renewed its strikes against Hezbollah. The White House said Israel had also agreed to the ceasefire, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it does not include Lebanon, where Israel’s operation has killed more than 1,500 people, according to local authorities. Still, both the US and Iran claimed victory as the truce was announced barely an hour before President Donald Trump’s deadline to agree a deal or face obliteration, but Tehran warned the war was not over until formal terms were negotiated.
Finger on the trigger Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned they had “no trust” in promises from Next page US President Donald Trump
Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif
Crisis cripples half of fishermen Garin: Fuel prices not going back to prewar levels in Luzon; rice harvest threatened By Alena Mae Flores, Charles Dantes, Maricel Cruz, and Ram Superable
By Othel Campos and Ram Superable NEARLY half of marginal fishers in several Luzon provinces have stopped going out to sea as surging fuel prices sharply raise operating costs, an agriculture group told senators on Wednesday, highlighting growing risks to food supply and livelihoods.
During a Senate Committee on Agriculture hearing, Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) executive director Jayson Cainglet said about 50 percent of fishers in Cavite, Bataan, Zambales, and Pangasinan have halted operations following the latest round of oil price hikes implemented on April 7. Next page
WORKING AND HEALTHY. Malacañang released a video of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. being interviewed by Palace Press Officer Usec. Claire Castro. The President addressed rumors on his health, saying he is back to his regular routine. (Story on A2)
THE Philippines should not expect fuel prices to return to pre-Middle East war levels anytime soon, even if the conflict in major oil-producing regions were to end immediately, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said Wednesday, as the government moved to address the impact of elevated oil costs on the economy. Garin’s predecessor at the Department of Energy (DOE), current Leyte Governor Jericho Petilla, echoed the sentiment, warning that high fuel prices may persist even if hostilities in the Middle East subside and government interventions are implemented. “Fearless forecast: There is no more, huwag na kayong umasang babalik pa ng P61 ‘yan (Don’t expect it will go back to P61 per liter of diesel),” Petilla said in a TV interview. In other developments: • The head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Willie Walsh, said it would take months for jet fuel supply and prices to stabilize, even with the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. • The DOE is studying the use of a P20 billion allocation from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to jumpstart the creation of a strategic petroleum reserve. Next page
CHED okays online classes option amid energy crisis By Rolando Ng III and Rio N. Araja THE Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on Tuesday approved the option for higher learning institutions to conduct fully online classes amid the ongoing fuel and electricity crisis.
CHED chairperson Shirley Agrupis said the directive is part of “stop-gap” measures similar to those issued during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are giving full flexibility for all higher education institutions to adhere to the previously issued COVID-19 pandemic CHED Memorandum Order.
Depending on their perceived readiness to offer pure online classes, they alone will determine,” she said. Colleges wishing to offer Online Distance Education Learning (ODEL) must undergo CHED’s screening process to ensure capabiliNext page
HOARDING. An oil tank with 20,000 liters of diesel tagged for fuel transfer is seen being lifted on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Brgy. Sacred Heart in Quezon City. A businessman and a Quezon City homeowner are facing possible charges of economic sabotage for the alleged diesel hoarding. Manny Palmero
Court allows Madriaga to attend VP Sara’s impeachment hearings By Maricel V. Cruz A MANILA Regional Trial Court (RTC) has granted the request of the House Committee on Justice to allow detained witness Ramil Madriaga to appear at the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte on April 14, Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon disclosed. Meanwhile, House Committee on Good Government and Public Ac-
countability chairman Manila Rep. Joel Chua said the impeachment proceedings will move forward since the Supreme Court did not issue a temporary restraining order (TRO). In a related development, the Justice committee ordered the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to produce official records to verify the identities of beneficiaries listed under the confidential funds of the Office of the Vice Next page