MANILA – The government has allotted at least a total of PHP3 billion budget for fuel subsidy under the General Appropriations Act of 2022, Malacañang said on Tuesday.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, the acting presidential spokesperson, made this comment after oil companies implemented another big-time price hike for the seventh straight week given supply constraints in the global market.
“Ang budget law natin (Our budget law) for 2022 which is the General Appropriations Act of 2022, mayroon pong mga nakalaan diyan na para sa mga (it has allotted budget for) fuel subsidy,” Nograles said in a virtual Palace briefing.
Under the Department of Transportation (DOTr) budget, he said a total of PHP2.5 billion is appropriated for financial assistance and fuel vouchers to qualified public utility vehicles, taxis, tricycles, full-time ride-hailing delivery service drivers to be affected by the oil price hikes.
Nograles said the implementation of the program is subject to the guidelines issued by the DOTr, Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and “when the average Dubai crude oil price based on Mean of Platts Singapore or MOPS for three months reaches or exceeds USD80 per barrel.”
He said another PHP500 million pesos under the Department of Agriculture (DA) has also been appropriated to provide fuel discounts to affected farmers and fisherfolk.
The fuel discount, he said, will be given “provided that the farmer or fisherfolk beneficiary owns and operates an agricultural and fishery machinery individually or through a farmer organization, cooperative or association; provided further that in case of fisherfolk, their fishing vessels are duly registered in the Integrated Boat Registry System or DA-BFAR’s BOATR.”
He said farmers or their organization shall provide proof that they own the farm machinery.
“So may conditions set before ma-trigger itong tinatawag na (So we have set conditions that would trigger this) fuel subsidy,” he said. “So apart from that, bago tumama po iyan ay patuloy naman po na pinag-uusapan ang iba pang mga mekanismo at tulong na maaari nating ibigay sa mga lubos na maaapektuhan (before that oil price hikes, we have been discussing mechanisms and assistance that we can give to those who will severely be affected).”
Nograles said the government has also been addressing the impact of oil price hikes, particularly on the prices of basic commodities.
“Iyong DTI [Department of Trade and Industry] po ay nag-update na po ng kanilang mga suggested retail price para sa mga basic necessities and prime commodities po natin (The DTI has updated its suggested retail price for the basic necessities and prime commodities),” he said.
In separate advisories, Caltex, Cleanfuel, Petro Gazz, PTT Philippines, Seaoil, and Shell said they will increase diesel prices by PHP1.05 per liter and gasoline by PHP1.20 per liter on Tuesday.
Caltex, Seaoil, and Shell will also hike kerosene prices by PHP0.65 per liter.
Since the price adjustments last week, local gasoline prices have already increased by PHP6.75 per liter, PHP9.15 per liter for diesel, and PHP8.45 per liter for kerosene.
According to S&P Global Platts, oil prices are moving towards the USD100 per barrel-mark amid supply constraints due to geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, while demand in Asia remains stable as economies recover from the pandemic.
The Russia-Ukraine border is a critical route for oil and gas trade as this is the transit hub for the commodities between Russia and the European Union.
Geopolitical tension in the border is expected to constrain the movement of supplies in a global market, which is already experiencing tight supply. (PNA)
