Soaring Oil Prices Hit Indigenous and Moro Communities Amid Escalating US Wars of Aggression

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 21, 2026

Soaring oil prices hit Indigenous and Moro Communities amid ascalating US wars of aggression

Quezon City — Indigenous Peoples, Moro, and rights groups conducted a snake protest at Litex Market in Quezon City on Tuesday as part of the Protestang Bayan, condemning the continued surge in oil prices driven by the escalating war of the imperialist United States against Iran and warning that the crisis is worsening the burden on already marginalized communities.

Global crude prices are rising amid intensifying tensions in West Asia, with immediate impact on import-dependent countries like the Philippines. Under the Oil Deregulation Law, oil companies freely set prices to maximize profit, passing costs onto consumers through higher transport fares and basic goods.

“The oil crisis is inseparable from war and the greed of imperialist powers. With every price hike, Indigenous communities, long neglected by the state, are pushed deeper into poverty,” said Kim Falyao of the Bai Indigenous Women’s Network. “For us, expensive fuel means hunger, lack of access to basic services, and the continued denial of a dignified livelihood.”

The impact is most severe in Indigenous and Moro communities, where rising fuel costs quickly translate to more expensive food and shrinking incomes, especially in remote areas.

At the same time, the crisis is being used to justify the expansion of large-scale energy projects in ancestral lands. Branded as “renewable energy” and “development,” these projects result in land-grabbing, displacement, and militarization of communities.

“These projects do not bring development, they bring displacement and violence,” said Julieta Gomez of Sandugo – Movement of Moro and Indigenous Peoples for Self-Determination. “War not only drives oil prices up, it is also used to justify the continued seizure of our lands and the denial of our right to self-determination.”

The groups also underscored that US military presence—through exercises such as Balikatan, the expansion of EDCA sites, and other agreements—further encroaches on Indigenous and Moro territories, intensifying militarization and human rights violations in affected communities.

“We should not be made to bear the weight of a crisis we did not create,” said Kakay Tolentino of the Bai Indigenous Women’s Network. “Instead of protecting the people, the government allows corporate greed to prevail while our communities are pushed deeper into hardship.”

“The rising cost of oil further entrenches inequality in Moro communities already burdened by decades of imperialist wars and neglect,” added Amirah Lidasan of the Moro-Christian Peoples Alliance. “This crisis shows how global wars and oppressive policies combine to dispossess our people and deny genuine development.”

The groups emphasized that current policies, including oil deregulation and taxes on fuel and basic goods and services, prioritize corporate profit over people’s welfare. They called to end the US wars of aggression, scrap the Oil Deregulation Law, remove VAT and excise taxes on oil, and hold the inutile US-Marcos Jr. regime accountable.

Amid worsening conditions, the groups stressed that only collective action can advance justice, sovereignty, and the rights of the people.

Reference:

Katribu Public Information Desk

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