House panels to hold special hearing on rising fuel prices
FILE PHOTO: A gas attendant fills up a gas tank at a gasoline station in Quezon City on September 24, 2019. INQUIRER PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines — Four committees in the House of Representatives will hold a special hearing to discuss means to manage increasing prices of fuel.
House ways and means committee chair Joey Salceda said the meeting will be conducted by his panel as well as the committees on economic affairs; energy; and transportation.
Salceda said the meeting, set on March 7, will discuss several topics related to oil prices such as the economic impact of the fuel crisis, the impact on the economy and inflation, the impact on trade and commodity prices, and the impact on agriculture.
“We have to be swift but also deliberative in these steps. That is why our committees have called for this meeting, and have invited the economic managers and other government agencies to see what we can do quickly and effectively,” Salceda said in a statement.
Moreover, Salceda said the meeting will also discuss the impact on supply and demand, the transport sector, and ways forward with the fuel excise tax and other taxes.
“I also expect some PUV (public utility vehicle) drivers who were near-poverty to fall into poverty once oil prices continue upward. To ease the pressure off, I will also be asking the economic managers to see if we can expand existing social amelioration programs to cover PUVs,” Salceda said.
“I will formally ask the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) and DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment) to modify guidelines for defining displaced workers and individuals in crisis situations so we can extend relief to affected PUV drivers and operators,” he added.
Meanwhile, Salceda said the temporary suspension of the fuel excise tax is “still on the table, and will be considered during the hearings.”
“If they can immediately distribute aid and subsidies, that’s good. But if government agencies will take as much time as they took during the first PUV Pantawid Pasada program, we need relief as immediate as a tax suspension,” Salceda said.
The Palace earlier called on Congress to review the Oil Deregulation Law amid the soaring fuel prices.
The call is part of the Palace’s medium-term response to the tensions between Ukraine and Russia, a key crude producer.
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