(FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) is eyeing a targeted fuel relief program because of skyrocketing costs of fuel.
PNOC president Jesus Cristino Posadas explained on Wednesday that the company’s new targeted fuel relief initiative would provide discounts to the most financially disadvantaged motorists in the country.
“We intend this not to be a dole out but to be a sustainable fund that’s why we’re looking at making it a revolving fund,” Posadas said during the Senate committee on energy hearing.
“The whole idea is for us to be able to provide a sustainable social protection to the affected sector like for example, public transport can be the farmers, and fisherfolk that will be identified by the DA, for example,” he explained.
When asked how the planned fuel discount scheme would vary from the Pantawid Pasada program, Posadas said that it would lay a greater emphasis on discounts for fuel.
Fuel subsidy cards are issued to beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pasada program.
“The difference is that we are doing it in terms of discounted fuel rather than in terms of money,” said Posadas.
He added that they are planning to purchase fuel during the -ber months and distribute it in two ways.
“We will be designating specific service stations. In fact, there will be two modes of doing this: Either government will do the importation itself and get a third party to distribute, or we will co-load and co-purchase with a given oil company and it will be a package deal including the distribution activity, in partnership of course with the industry players,” the official said.
This week, oil companies announced a major hike in the prices of diesel, gasoline, and kerosene.