As oil prices surge for the second consecutive week of 2025, reaching P57 per liter for diesel in the National Capital Region, the government’s inadequate response reveals a stark prioritization of political consolidation over urgent economic relief measures, transport group PISTON said.
While Filipino families face mounting pressures from escalating fuel, food, and basic commodity prices, the Marcos administration has failed to implement substantial price protection mechanisms, focusing instead on political positioning ahead of the midterm elections.
“This regime has shown zero response to the crisis we’re experiencing,” says PISTON National President and Makabayan senatorial candidate Mody Floranda. “While both the Marcos and Duterte camps rush to consolidate power for the elections, drivers must work increasingly longer hours just to survive.”
According to PISTON, drivers continue to see their daily earnings erode due to rising fuel costs, with no meaningful government intervention in sight. Critical demands for VAT and excise tax suspension on petroleum products remain unaddressed, while House bills aimed at repealing the Oil Deregulation Law and reforming the downstream oil industry, filed by the Makabayan Coalition, remain in legislative limbo.
The administration’s deliberate inaction comes despite clear legal authority to implement price control measures. This hands-off approach has disproportionately impacted poor and low-income Filipino households, whose purchasing power has been further diminished by cuts to social protection budgets and increased social security contributions in 2025.
“Like the Duterte administration before them, the Marcos government clearly shows no concern for Filipino suffering. They’re both opportunists thirsting for power,” Floranda added.