Trump stays popular in Philippines despite Iran war fuel crisis

Even as the Philippines thrashes through the throes of an energy crisis born of the Iran war, Filipinos themselves largely appear uninterested in blaming the man who started it. Instead of Donald Trump, public ire has instead coalesced around Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr and his administration for failing to quell soaring prices. Fuel costs have rocketed across the archipelago since the United States and Israel first struck Iran on February 28, following the near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz through which much of the Middle East’s oil and gas flows. Petrol station attendants across Metro Manila were manually repricing their pumps last week, as their digital boards – never designed for three-digit fuel costs – could not cope with record prices. Diesel has already hit 115 pesos (US$1.92) per litre in some locations and threatens to climb higher, eating into minimum daily wages that do not exceed 700 pesos in the Philippine capital. On Tuesday, Philippine Senator Panfilo Lacson placed the blame squarely on Washington. “President Trump’s brinkmanship did not work. In fact, it has boomeranged,” Lacson wrote on social media. “He should be held to account by the whole world, including his own country.” Many Filipinos online did not appear to share his outrage. Most instead called for the Marcos administration to put its own house in order, in particular a billion-peso flood control scandal that triggered mass protests and much public fury. “I think Trump and the US did a good job for them and for the whole world,” wrote one on social media. “We have to view this war from the perspective of the future rather than the current spike in gas prices.” Another challenged the senator directly: “We cannot do anything about a global crisis, as there is one each year. What is your solution, since the Philippines has funds and can pass laws?” A third was blunter still: “Before you make such demands, first hold the members of Senate and House of Representatives involved in the flood control scam accountable.” Analysts say the disconnect is not surprising. “Filipinos will not be asking about ‘who started it’ because their issue is high fuel costs,” said Julio Amador, interim president of the Foundation for the National Interest think tank and founder of the non-profit policy advisory firm FACTS Asia. “The impact of the Iran war on oil prices doesn’t necessarily translate into negative perceptions of Donald Trump,” added Arjan Aguirre, an assistant professor of political science at the Ateneo de Manila University. “For many, the rising fuel costs are seen as a global issue rather than something directly attributable to a foreign leader.” The US president’s image as a strong, decisive figure, particularly on China, continued to resonate, Aguirre said. “What we’re seeing, I suspect, might be a serious gap between economic effects and political perception, where global events affect daily life, but don’t significantly shift how Filipinos view him.” Nearly 60 per cent of Filipinos named Trump as the foreign leader they most wanted to attend the coming Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Manila, according to a Pulse Asia survey of 1,200 Filipinos between February 27 and March 2. Seventy per cent said they trusted the US most in helping defend the Philippines’ rights in the South China Sea, where Manila and Beijing have been locked in a long-running maritime row. Support for Trump is hardly unanimous, however, with protesters seen taking to the streets to rally against the Iran war brandishing placards bearing images of Trump, Marcos and Israel’s prime minister. Amador said he doubted the Iran war had dented Filipino confidence in Washington as a security partner. Allies of former president Rodrigo Duterte, who leaned towards China while in office, had attempted to link the war to the US-Philippine alliance, he said, spreading disinformation that Iran might retaliate by targeting American military bases on Philippine soil. But the effort appeared to gain little traction. “Nobody’s getting the argument that we will be victims of possible attacks,” Amador said. “It’s really a question of: well, you do have a fuel crisis, and an energy crisis, and that’s the main issue. Security vs economics Joint drills such as the annual Balikatan military exercise helped sustain public warmth towards Trump and the US on security matters, said Chester Cabalza, founder and president of the International Development and Security Cooperation think tank. But he warned that a prolonged energy crisis could hurt the Philippines’ trajectory towards upper-middle-income status “as it would cripple heavy industries and services”. Deryk Baladjay, an international relations lecturer at De La Salle University, said the US was widely viewed as a security provider and China as an economic partner, reflecting “a structural imbalance in American regional engagement.” “The US has consistently failed to integrate its security commitments with a credible, material economic strategy in Southeast Asia,” he said. “Security guarantees, absent tangible economic benefits, are politically fragile in contexts where voters experience immediate material pressures.” Everyone is expecting this to hit inflation. It starts with energy, then spills over into … everything else Julio Amador, policy adviser Amador said the Philippine government had been reluctant to criticise Washington openly and appeared uncertain about how to respond, though he added it was “difficult to assign blame, because Iran has long been a thorn in the side of the US”. Rising fuel costs, driven higher by US military action, would cascade regressively through transport, food and electricity prices, he predicted. “To be honest, we are substantively affected,” Amador said. “Everyone is expecting this to hit inflation. It starts with energy, then spills over into inflation and everything else.”

Trump stays popular in Philippines despite Iran war fuel crisis

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}A Philippine senator wants Filipinos to hold Trump accountable for their surging fuel bills. But public anger has a different target

A Philippine senator wants Filipinos to hold Trump accountable for their surging fuel bills. But public anger has a different target