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Cristina Chi - Philstar.com
March 30, 2026 | 10:56am
Members of fisherfolk group PAMALAKAYA in Cavite docked their fishing boats and temporarily suspended their fishing trips for a day to hold a “tigil-palaot” protest against the government’s “inadequate response” to the oil price shock, March 30, 2026.
PAMALAKAYA
MANILA, Philippines — Several small-time fisherfolk have had to ground their boats for nearly a month, unable to fish, as diesel prices have more than doubled since the start of the Middle East oil crisis, the fisher group PAMALAKAYA said Monday, March 30.
Frustrated with the government's response to the oil crisis, members of the fisher group's Cavite chapter staged a "tigil-palaot" — a one-day fishing halt turned protest — on Monday to demand the removal of fuel taxes and the fast-tracking of subsidies they say have yet to reach them.
Fisherfolk have been among the hardest hit in a crisis that is reaching into every sector of Philippine life, especially those that heavily depend on fuel to eke out an income. Diesel now exceeds P130 per liter after weeks of relentless hikes, driven by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
PAMALAKAYA chairperson Fernando Hicap said in a March 18 statement that production costs have jumped 60% per fishing trip. The group has also called the government's P3,000 one-time fuel subsidy for fisherfolk inadequate and would not last them three days on the water.
"Our fishing boats are docked for almost a month now because we can no longer afford the skyrocketing price of diesel. Some fisherfolk have temporarily left fishing and shifted to odd jobs including construction work," Richard Catenza, PAMALAKAYA-Cavite president, said in the statement.
"The promised fuel subsidy by the government remains elusive for the food security front-liners like us," he added.
Before the crisis, PAMALAKAYA said a small fisher working Manila Bay spent about P560 on diesel per trip. At the current rate of P124 per liter — which the group called an all-time high — the same 10 liters now costs P1,240, a 121% jump.
The group is demanding the removal of fuel taxes that add up to P20 per liter on petroleum products, and the rollout of P15,000 each in fuel subsidies to more than two million registered fisherfolk.
The fisherfolk's protest comes amid what has become the Philippines' worst energy shock in memory. President Marcos signed Executive Order No. 110 on March 25 placing the country under a state of national energy emergency.
