President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has issued Executive Order 120, extending the maximum seven-year period for qualified beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

The executive order, signed July 13, was reported by the Philippine News Agency on Friday.

There is a need to ensure that 4Ps beneficiaries affected by exceptional circumstances continue to receive adequate support under the program until they achieve the level of self-sufficiency as contemplated by RA No. 11310 (4Ps Act),” Marcos said in his executive order .

This comes as the Department of Energy forecast that prices of diesel will jump to at least P11 a liter, the biggest increase in nearly a month,

Kerosene prices will rise by as much as P12 a liter while gasoline prices will go up by P4 a liter, it added.

The increase in pump prices is caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz after the US resumed its bombing in Iran a few days ago. PHS