Manila. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday declared a state of national energy emergency, citing the impact of the Middle East war, which his administration warned poses “an imminent danger of a critically low energy supply.”

Under the declaration, initially set to last one year, Marcos will lead a contingency committee tasked with ensuring the availability and orderly distribution of fuel, food, medicines, agricultural products, and other essential goods.

Authorities have been ordered to crack down on hoarding, profiteering, and supply manipulation involving petroleum products. The Department of Migrant Workers has also been instructed to prepare for the possible evacuation of Filipinos in the Middle East.

The government has begun distributing 5,000 pesos (about $83) to motorcycle taxi drivers and other public transport workers nationwide to help offset rising gasoline and diesel prices. Free bus rides are also being provided to students and workers in selected cities.

Roughly 2.4 million Filipinos live and work in the Middle East, including about 31,000 in Israel and 800 in Iran. Most have chosen to remain in the region, with only several hundred repatriated so far with government assistance since the conflict began.

A Filipina caregiver, Mary Ann de Vera, was killed in Tel Aviv on Feb. 28 in an Iranian missile strike while helping her elderly charge reach a bomb shelter, Philippine officials said.

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