Good day. Here are the stories of The Manila Times for Tuesday, March 17, 2026. Today’s episode is brought to you by Wilcon Depot, The Philippines’ leading home improvement and construction supplies retailer — your Trusted Building Partner. BANNER: Premium gas, diesel to hit P100 this week THE cost of diesel and premium gasoline will shoot up to more than P100 a liter at some gas stations this week as oil companies impose another massive round of price hikes due to supply disruptions from the ongoing war in the Middle East. The sizable price hikes will be accompanied by an increase in jeepney and bus fares, which the government said would stay within a 19-percent ceiling. The Department of Energy (DOE) on Monday said the oil companies agreed to stagger the second hefty round of price increases in so many weeks as the war in the Middle East showed no signs of abating. READ: Global energy crisis looms as Iran throttles shipping BEIRUT, Lebanon — Fears of a global energy crisis rose Monday as the war in the Middle East raged on, with more US-Israeli strikes on the Iranian capital and Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon. An Iranian drone strike temporarily shut Dubai’s airport, a crucial global travel hub, underscoring the threats to the world economy. Since the United States and Israel attacked Iran more than two weeks ago, Tehran has regularly fired on Israel, American bases in the region, and Gulf Arab countries’ energy infrastructure with drones and missiles. It has also effectively stopped shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported, dramatically increasing the price of oil and putting pressure on Washington to do something to ease the pain consumers are feeling. READ: Marcos certifies changes to Biofuels Act as urgent PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. certified as urgent a measure seeking to amend the Biofuels Act of 2006 to address the high cost of petroleum products. In a letter to Senate President Vicente Sotto III dated March 16, Marcos called for the immediate enactment of Senate Bill 1965, which seeks to tweak Section 5 of the law. The amendments would temporarily suspend or adjust the mandatory biofuel blending requirements to permit the use of lower-cost imported bioethanol, which is often cheaper than domestic alternatives. The bill also allows the president to reduce or waive the mandatory 10-percent bioethanol (E10) and 2-percent biodiesel (B2) blending requirements if the blended fuel is at least 5 percent more expensive than pure petroleum. READ: Filipina-American Autumn Durald Arkapaw makes Oscar history FILIPINA AMERICAN cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw made history by becoming the first woman to win the Oscar for Best Cinematography at the 98th Academy Awards held Sunday night in Los Angeles (Monday morning in Manila). She is also the first Filipina and the first Black person to win the award.  Arkapaw won for her work on “Sinners,” Ryan Coogler’s genre-bending hit, which entered the Oscars with a record 16 nominations and went on to win four awards, including Best Actor for Michael B. Jordan, Best Original Screenplay for Coogler and Best Original Score for Ludwig Göransson. During her acceptance speech, Arkapaw asked the women in the audience to stand, acknowledging the support she received throughout her career and the film’s awards run. Arkapaw is only the fourth woman ever nominated in the cinematography category. The previous female nominees were Rachel Morrison for “Mudbound,” Ari Wegner for “The Power of the Dog,” and Mandy Walker for “Elvis.” READ: Pag-IBIG holds housing fair in Central Luzon A HOUSING fair in Central Luzon set on March 18 and 19 can help aspiring homebuyers as more than 20,000 affordable housing units will be made available for them, Pag-IBIG Fund CEO Marilene Acosta said on Monday. To be held at LausGroup Event Centre in Pampanga, the two-day event will also feature housing units with monthly payments as low as P3,411 through the expanded Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino (4PH) Program’s 3-percent subsidized interest rate, allowing families earning at least P11,443 a month to qualify for a housing loan, Acosta said. Mainly organized by the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) or Pag-IBIG, the program is being rolled out in partnership with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) while more than 40 developers and housing agencies are expected to join. BUSINESS:  Remittances down to $3.36B in January MONEY sent home by overseas Filipinos (OFs) dropped in January from December’s all-time high, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed on Monday. Personal remittances, which include cash sent through banks and informal channels, rose by 3.5 percent to $3.36 billion from $3.24 billion a year earlier but dropped 13.7 percent from December’s all-time high of $3.9 billion. Cash remittances alone totaled $3.02 billion, also 3.5 percent higher than the year ago $2.92 billion but 14.3-percent lower compared to December’s $3.52 billion. SPORTS: Eala hits new career best No. 29 at WTA FILIPINO tennis ace Alexandra “Alex” Eala cracked the top 30 of the latest Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings, hitting a new career-best No. 29 on Monday. Eala leaped three places from her No. 32 rank two weeks ago, and elevated three notches higher than her previous best of No. 31 achieved on February 23. The WTA did not release an official rankings update last week as the 1000-tier BNP Paribas Open was still in full swing. Opinion and editorial Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta and Orlando Mercado are today’s front page columnists. Contreras’ column is about the theatrics of Laguna’s P902M supplemental budget. Makabenta, meanwhile, says that Filipinos need a new message expressing pride and confidence in their country. Mercado’s column is about breaking the family franchise. Today’s editorial is about raising literacy through books. 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