By Samuel P. Medenilla & Bernadette D. Nicolas
THE threat of war in the Middle East prompted President Duterte on Monday to call on Congress to have a special session to allocate funds for the possible repatriation of the millions of Filipinos in the region.
In his speech after signing the 2020 national budget, Duterte appealed to lawmakers to set aside the necessary fund for the mass repatriation efforts in case the conflict between the United States and Iran escalates into a full-scale war.
Iran threatened to retaliate against the US after its air strike killed a top Iranian general last Friday in Baghdad, Iraq. In the latest development on Monday, Iraq is considering expelling all US troops from its soil, as protest for what was seen as a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty. In Iran, millions poured out onto the streets, mourning for the death of the general, Qassem Soleimani.
Duterte on Monday expressed concern the conflict could spread to other US allies in the Middle East like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Israel, which both host large numbers of overseas Filipino workers. Saudi Arabia hosts over a million Filipinos and Israel, over 100,000. In the entire Gulf region, there are an estimated 1.9 million OFW.
“I do not have anything to worry [about] were it not for the fact there are a lot of Filipinos there. And it would take a huge gargantuan effort just in case total war breaks out [and we have] to bring them back safely,” Duterte said.
Congress, which is currently in recess, is scheduled to resume its session on January 20.
Duterte said he will leave it up to Congress to determine where it will source the funds and where it will be allocated. What is important to him, he said, is the funds will be immediately available if the need for it arises.
“Congress can put the safeguards, the roadblocks there to avoid corruption,” Duterte said.
Managers on alert
Economic managers indicated they are on alert over the possible impact of the geopolitical tension between United States and Iran.
They are also closely monitoring the situation to determine the best course of action to take should tension escalate and cause oil prices to increase.
The chairman of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) and Acting Budget Secretary Wendel E. Avisado said he expects “things to worsen in the coming days.” “We have already seen the sudden increase in the price of oil by as much as 15 percent from its current level, if I am not mistaken, because of the action taken by the US government and we expect things to worsen in the coming days. That is why even the President has already issued the call to all concerned agencies to prepare for the repatriation of all Filipinos living in Iraq and Iran,” Avisado said in a text message to the BusinessMirror.
Pressed further on whether among “things to worsen in the coming days” include the Dubai crude oil price breaching government’s assumption for the year of $55 to $70 per barrel, Budget chief Avisado said that it is his “personal opinion” and “may include or not include Dubai crude oil.”
“Everything is subject to evaluation. Mine is only an opinion,” he said. Last Friday [January 3], oil prices jumped and stocks declined following the killing of Maj. Gen. Soleimani, head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
The price of international benchmark Brent oil nearly touched $70 per barrel after the Pentagon reported US President Donald J. Trump authorized the air strike against Soleimani at Baghdad’s airport. Further, American benchmark West Texas Intermediate went up over 3 percent to settle at $63.05 a barrel. The immediate price surges were among the highest since the attack on Saudi oil installations in September that temporarily erased 5 percent of the world’s oil supply.
TRAIN suspension
Meanwhile, Finance Assistant Secretary Antonio Joselito G. Lambino II said it is up for legislators to amend the suspension mechanism for fuel excise tax increase under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) law amid a call from labor groups to suspend such due to the US-Iran tension.
“The suspension mechanism as passed by Congress and the Senate is: if the average price reaches 80 dollars per barrel for an average of three months before the next increase, the next increase will be suspended. We have already implemented the last tranche actually so the suspension mechanism does not seem to apply in this case. This will be a matter for our legislators to amend,” Lambino said at the Tapatan sa The Aristocrat on Monday.
Asked whether the geopolitical tension would affect the Philippine economy, the finance official noted the Philippines achieved a 6.2-percent economic growth despite the headwinds last year such as the reenacted budget and the US-China trade war.
Image credits: AP Photo/Anmar Khalil