Senator Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV appealed to the government to extend help to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and the middle class, who have been greatly affected by soaring oil prices due to the Middle East crisis.

In a Friday report by RH 28 Raymund Dadpaas, Aquino said many small business owners and minimum wage earners above the poverty line are ineligible for traditional aid, even as they face financial strain.

For the senator, it is crucial that the government acts quickly to provide targeted assistance as the impact of the Middle East war permeates gas stations, grocery stores, and sari-sari stores.

The transportation sector has been prioritized, the lawmaker noted, because of the rising pump prices driven upwards by the US-Israel war on Iran, a major exporter of oil.

After them, Aquino believes the next to receive assistance should be the MSMEs and middle class citizens.

As of February this year, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said that MSMEs comprise 99.5 percent of businesses in the Philippines.