ADB approves $1.5B loan for Philippines’ Middle East crisis response

ASM, Philippine Canadian Inquirer
September 25, 2026

Photo courtesy: Yahoo Finance Singapore

MANILA, Philippines — The Asian Development Bank has approved $1.5 billion in financing to help the Philippines cushion the economic impact of the continuing conflict in the Middle East, including higher fuel and food costs and risks facing overseas Filipino workers.

ADB said the financing will support the government’s Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT), a whole-of-government program created to address the economic effects of the crisis.

The loan is being provided under ADB’s Assistance for Greater Resilience and Alleviation of Poverty program through its Countercyclical Support Facility, a regional financing mechanism for countries facing major economic shocks.

What the financing will support

According to ADB, the financing will help the Philippine government secure fuel supplies and maintain affordable electricity, health services, food and medicines.

It will also support people whose incomes have been affected by the Middle East conflict and provide assistance for affected overseas Filipino workers returning to the Philippines.

Measures under UPLIFT include:

• fare discounts;
• fuel and fertilizer subsidies;
• support for provincial and small electric cooperatives;
• medical relief packages; and
• cash assistance for poor and vulnerable households, public transport drivers and operators, small-scale farmers and fisherfolk.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. established UPLIFT under Executive Order No. 110 on March 24, which also declared a state of national energy emergency amid disruptions linked to the Middle East conflict.

Philippines exposed to fuel, fertilizer price shocks

ADB said the Philippines is particularly vulnerable to international price increases because it imports nearly all of its fuel and depends heavily on imported fertilizers.

Oil accounts for about one-third of the country’s primary energy supply and is sourced largely from the Middle East, while a significant share of fertilizer imports also comes directly or indirectly from the region.

Higher fuel and fertilizer costs can increase transportation expenses and the cost of producing rice and other crops, putting additional pressure on food prices.

The Middle East is also a major destination for Filipino migrant workers.

Around 1.1 million overseas Filipino workers were deployed to the region in 2025, according to ADB. They accounted for about 18 percent of the Philippines’ $35.6 billion in total remittances that year.

ADB said deployment to the region has declined substantially in 2026 amid the conflict.

Part of wider ADB crisis support

ADB President Masato Kanda said the financing backs the Philippines’ efforts to protect people affected by the crisis.

“With this financing, we are backing the Philippines’ determination to keep its people secure,” Kanda said.

The latest approval follows ADB’s announcement in May that it was prepared to provide the Philippines with up to $1.75 billion in additional financing to help manage the economic effects of the Middle East conflict.

ADB said it has also provided about $500 million to help Southeast Asian economies deal with the impact of the conflict.

The $1.5-billion financing approved for the Philippines will specifically help fund the government’s UPLIFT response as it seeks to protect vulnerable households, workers and essential services from continuing economic pressures linked to the Middle East crisis.