The impact of the US-Iran-Israel war on all

Whenever the giants fight, the small guys are the ones who are bound to bear the horrendous consequences of the conflicts. The migrant workers, and there are more than fifty million of them from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines and other labor-sending countries.

More than two million Filipino migrant workers and their families are being disturbed, disrupted and dislocated by the escalating conflicts in the Middle East. Their lives and livelihoods are being threatened and are on the verge of being devastated by the continuing hostilities. In Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Iraq, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan Oman and Saudi Arabia, OFWs are driven to evacuation centers, thousands are stranded in airports. The DMW and the DFA are having their hands full addressing this emergency.

On the larger scale, this conflict also entails multiple and varied far-reaching implications to the global landscape of geopolitics and the world economy and supply chain.Oil and gas prices have surged as Iran continues to launch strikes across the Middle East in response to ongoing attacks by the US and Israel. There is a sharp surge in the price of oil and gas and our struggling economy is definitely impacted. This triggers another spike in the inflation rate and drives upward the prices of goods and services.

The disruption of the oil supply chain when the Strait of Hormuz is being obstructed by belligerent forces could mean an oil crisis in many countries that depend on the Middle East for oil and gas. The economies of India, China, as well as ourselves, the Filipinos and our own fellow ASEAN fellow member nations including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Timor Leste. Only Indonesia and Brunei have sufficient supply of oil.

There were continuing and relentless surges in the prices of oil and gas globally. Following attacks on its facilities, Qatar Energy halted its natural gas production thereby pushing the price of gas rapidly and still counting. The global benchmark Brent crude indicated that the price of crude oil hit 82 dollars as an immediate response to the virtual economic and military blockade of Hormuz.  These developments could spell far-reaching consequences on poorer countries and on the poorest of the poor among the world's population.

The Philippines is the most adversely affected. For all these conflicts could only mean more suffering for the masses and more social and political conflicts. If and when hundreds of thousands of our OFWs are going to be repatriated, that could mean millions of dollars of remittances halted. The consequences could disrupt the schooling of colleges, delay the house rentals of millions of Filipinos and impede the poor Filipinos' access to food, housing, medicines and other social needs. These could mean more pressures on our social and economic landscape in the whole country.

In the US, the stock market was deeply impacted as reported by both Nasdaq and Standard and Poor.  In London, the FTSE 100 share index closed down 1.2 percent with the owner British Airways recording the highest fall in recent financial and economic developments. The banking industry globally is also adversely affected. The likes of Barclays, Standard Chartered and HSBC are seeing share prices sliding down dangerously low. This could lead to many nations' central banks facing the inevitable lowering of interest rates. and lower incomes.

The conflict started by Iran's ruling clerics as well as by Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu is bringing untold sorrows and pains on millions of people all over the world. The impact of this war is beyond pecuniary estimation.