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Cristina Chi - Philstar.com
March 23, 2026 | 3:38pm
MANILA, Philippines — Only 40,000 to 45,000 farmers and fisherfolk will receive fuel subsidies from the Department of Agriculture amid the Middle East oil crisis — a fraction of the sector — because the government lacks the funds to cover more, department spokesperson Arnel de Mesa said.
The P150-million fuel subsidy program is being sourced entirely from unspent funds carried over from the 2025 General Appropriations Act, split equally at P75 million each for farmers and fisherfolk, De Mesa said on Monday, March 23.
The 2026 national budget contains no line item for agricultural fuel subsidies.
"We have no funds under the General Appropriations Act allocated for fuel subsidy," De Mesa said in an interview with dzMM. "This is a continuing fund... Unless, of course, additional funding is given to our department for this kind of subsidy, then we can give more to our farmers and fisherfolk."
The subsidy will provide P3,000 to fisherfolk who own boats of three gross tons or less, and P5,000 to farmers who own or rent fuel-powered machinery. The money is loaded onto an Interventions Monitoring Card, a debit-style card usable only at gas stations.
The department has said that the subsidies will be distributed this month.
The program comes as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has pushed domestic diesel above P104 per liter, with possible new increases set to further squeeze farmers and fisherfolk who depend on fuel to run boats and farm equipment.
'Slow, inadequate'
Fishing group Pamalakaya last week called out the "slow" and "inadequate" provision of the fuel subsidies. "Production costs for fisherfolk have jumped 60 percent per fishing trip. Where will P3,000 in fuel subsidies go? It won't even last three days, while fisherfolk shoulder ballooning production costs every single day," the group's chairperson Fernando Hicap said in a March 18 statement.
De Mesa acknowledged the limitation but said the DA has no choice but to prioritize certain beneficiaries, especially those from poorer municipalities.
"For fisherfolk, those who are registered plus those who own boats that do not exceed three gross tons. And priority is given to those in poor municipalities," De Mesa said. "For our farmers, first, they are also registered with the RSBSA. Second, they own or rent machinery that will use this fuel."
The department is working off existing lists from previous rounds of fuel aid distributed in 2022, 2023 and 2024, with priority going to those who have not yet received assistance, De Mesa said.
Distribution to fisherfolk began March 16 in Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan and Pampanga. Farmers will start receiving theirs in the first week of April.
The department spokesperson said a much larger relief program, the Presidential Assistance for Farmers and Fisherfolk, will cover 4.1 million beneficiaries with an initial payout of roughly P2,350 each, drawn from a separate P10-billion fund under the DA's 2026 budget.
That amount could still change depending on the final count of recipients, De Mesa said. Distribution begins after Holy Week.
Next great problem: Fertilizers
But even as the DA rolls out immediate relief, De Mesa flagged a potentially bigger problem ahead: fertilizer.
"Fertilizer prices have gone up from P1,500 — some are already at P2,200 or even higher," he said. "That's going to be our concern: additional cost for production."
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has began talks with the embassies of China and Russia to find alternative fertilizer sources, De Mesa said. The DA is also promoting biofertilizers and other non-fuel-based alternatives to reduce dependence on conventional inputs.
