CWR | Center for Women's Resources

The Center for Women’s Resources (CWR) condemned the Philippine government’s inutile and anti-people response to continued oil price hikes, warning that Filipino women, especially from poor and working-class households, are bearing the brunt of the crisis.

Global oil prices have surged as the recent US-Israel military attacks on Iran have triggered consecutive fuel price increases in the Philippines, raising the risk of further inflation. With the country importing about 95% of its petroleum, Filipino consumers face escalating transport, food, and utility costs.

The Philippines’ dependence on imported oil makes fare hikes and income losses inevitable. Already, an estimated 14.3 million poor families and 3.4 million borderline poor households are highly vulnerable to price increases.

CWR stressed that these increases disproportionately impact women who are primarily responsible for managing household budgets and ensuring their families’ survival. With the family living wage estimated at around ₱1,240 per day – more than double the country’s average minimum wage of ₱498 – women are forced to stretch their already inadequate resources.

Transport group PISTON and PISTON Women have long warned that fuel price hikes lead to higher fares and reduced driver incomes. For women in transport and low-income households, the impact is immediate. Marissa Figueroa of PISTON Women shared, “Before the series of huge oil price hikes, we still managed to make ends meet. My husband’s earnings used to reach ₱700-₱800 a day for 12-hour work. With the prices of diesel and crude oil increasing almost every day, my husband’s income as a jeepney driver is now only ₱200 or ₱300, which is almost not enough. I have a child studying and a grandchild living with us. Sometimes, we just eat rice with bagoong (fermented fish paste); sometimes, we just go to bed hungry.” Due to rising fuel costs, Figueroa’s family is struggling to afford even basic meals.

“These stories reflect the daily reality of women absorbing the impact of inflation,” said CWR Executive Director Cham Perez. “Each price hike multiplies the burden on women managing households on near-zero budgets.” 

PISTON calls for a transport strike and a people’s protest on March 27 as part of a larger series of protests against the government’s inaction in addressing the ongoing crisis. The strike, organized by PISTON and supported by different sectors, aims to highlight how rising oil prices are not only affecting transport workers but also worsening the living conditions of poor families, particularly women who manage household budgets on already stretched incomes.

CWR criticized the Marcos administration for failing to implement meaningful relief measures, pointing to policies such as excise taxes and value-added tax (VAT) on oil that continue to pass costs onto consumers while protecting oil company profits. The excise taxes reach up to ₱10 per liter on gasoline and ₱6 on diesel, alongside a 12% VAT – among the highest in Southeast Asia. In 2024 alone, the government collected ₱304.3 billion from oil-related taxes.

Fuel price increases are expected to continue, with global prices rising by about 25% and local diesel prices projected to increase by ₱17 to ₱24 per liter. In some areas, diesel has already exceeded ₱100 per liter, driving up the costs of food, electricity, and other basic goods. If the US and Israel’s attacks on Iran continue, inflation could reach 6% to 7% in the coming months, potentially pushing millions more families into poverty.

The government’s ₱5,000 fuel subsidy for jeepney drivers, a one-time aid being called relief, barely makes up for the constant rise in oil prices that is making it harder for all transport workers to make ends meet. “Worse, these subsidies end up bringing public money back to private oil companies, which guarantees their profits while leaving drivers, commuters, and other groups who are already struggling to deal with the long-term effects of growing expenses,” Perez noted.

This shows that the policy is biased toward protecting private corporations over helping people. Women, who already face economic insecurity due to unstable jobs and increased household costs, are further disadvantaged by the lack of structural reforms in the oil industry and public transportation system. 

“Workers are drowning in rising costs while the government stays passive and beholden to oil companies. This deregulated system has long failed the public,” Perez added.

CWR reiterated calls to repeal the Oil Deregulation Law, scrap VAT and excise taxes on oil, provide substantial subsidies, and implement wage hikes. It also called on the public to stand in solidarity with transport workers, market vendors, and poor families struggling to survive.

“We will continue to hold the government accountable for its inutile response to the people’s mounting hunger and hardship,” added Perez. “Without decisive government action, the crisis will only deepen – further impoverishing millions of Filipino families and pushing women to the brink,” Perez concluded. #

At least 36 women in the Philippines become victims of violence every day, with 13,211 cases recorded in 2025, according to monitoring by the Center for Women’s Resources (CWR), which warned that persistent sexism in society—including recent remarks by Quezon City 4th District Representative Bong Suntay about actress Anne Curtis—reflects a culture that continues to enable abuse against women.

CWR emphasized that these official figures likely represent only a fraction of the real situation. Data from the Philippine National Police–Women and Children Protection Center (PNP-WCPC) estimate that only one in ten cases of violence against women is reported, suggesting that the actual number of women experiencing abuse each year could reach more than 130,000.

According to CWR, underreporting persists due to victim-blaming, a culture of silence, lack of trust in authorities, and the continued impunity enjoyed by many perpetrators.

In both 2024 and 2025, domestic violence or violations of Republic Act 9262 (the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act) remained the most common form of abuse, accounting for about 60 percent of all cases, with 9,241 incidents documented in 2024. This was followed by rape, and acts of lasciviousness and violations of Republic Act 11313 or the Safe Spaces Act.

CWR Executive Director Cham Perez said the persistence of such high numbers reflects deeper social attitudes that continue to normalize misogyny and discrimination against women.

According to CWR, violence against women is rooted not only in individual acts of abuse but also in the country’s feudal-patriarchal social structures, where women are often treated as subordinate to men and expected to conform to restrictive gender roles. These attitudes, the group said, continue to shape social norms and institutions, enabling a culture where harassment, abuse, and the objectification of women are tolerated or dismissed.

“Violence against women thrives in a society where misogyny is tolerated and normalized,” Perez said. “Sexist remarks—even from public officials—reinforce the attitudes that allow abuse to continue and discourage survivors from coming forward.”

Perez cited the recent sexist remarks made by Rep. Bong Suntay, referring to actress Anne Curtis, as an example of the kind of rhetoric that contributes to a culture that trivializes women.

CWR called on public officials to uphold respect for women in their public statements and to take an active role in challenging the culture of sexism that enables violence. Public officials should also take a stronger stand against misogyny and actively support efforts to prevent violence against women, including stricter enforcement of existing laws and stronger support services for survivors.

“Public officials have a responsibility to challenge sexism, not reinforce it,” Perez said. “Addressing violence against women requires not only laws but also leadership that promotes respect for women, accountability for perpetrators, and real support systems for survivors.”

“Ending violence against women requires more than laws—it requires leaders who take seriously their responsibility to protect women and uphold women’s dignity,” Perez added.

The Center for Women’s Resources (CWR) raises alarm over the  looming surge in oil prices and the renewed talk of “emergency powers” for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.. CWR also calls for the immediate scrapping of the excise tax and value-added tax (VAT) on fuel, which add to the burden faced by the majority of Filipino women managing household budgets on already stretched incomes.

Reports indicate that fuel prices may increase by as much as ₱10 per liter amid the escalating US-Israel war on Iran. Yet beyond global conflict, the harsh truth remains:  Filipino consumers are defenseless against oil price shocks because the 1998 Oil Deregulation Law surrendered government control to profit-driven oil corporations.  For decades, this policy has left the public at the mercy of market speculation and foreign crises.

In response to the impending oil price hikes, President Marcos Jr. is considering seeking special powers to suspend the excise tax on fuel. Proposals for limited fuel subsidies for drivers and operators to help mitigate the impacts have also surfaced. These are presented as decisive action – but they are, at best, temporary band-aid solutions. 

If President Marcos Jr. is  sincere in easing the suffering of Filipinos, he must go beyond temporary suspensions and decisively scrap the excise tax, including the value-added tax on fuel and other essential commodities. Women’s and consumer’s groups strongly opposed the excise tax on fuel when it was imposed under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law in 2018, precisely because it would drive up fuel prices and trigger widespread increases in the cost of basic goods. Today’s crisis proves that those warnings were valid.

Meanwhile, Senator Gatchalian, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance, warns that suspending the excise tax would result in an estimated ₱300 billion in lost government revenues. But to ordinary Filipino women struggling to stretch every peso, this argument rings hollow.

Women will only be concerned about revenue losses when they see their taxes translated into accessible health care, quality education, decent housing, and social protection. Instead, they are told to tighten their belts while corruption scandals persist and basic services remain inadequate.  Why must the people absorb the shock of global conflict and corporate profiteering, while the government refuses to overhaul unjust tax and oil policies? 

Filipino women refuse to carry the heaviest burden of the economic crisis once again. We reject policies that institutionalize exploitation under the guise of fiscal responsibility.

CWR calls on all Filipinos to intensify the fight for concrete measures and long-term solutions that address the root causes of fuel and basic commodity price hikes, ensure full transparency and accountability in public spending, and repeal tax policies that unfairly burden women and other vulnerable sectors. #