FUEL SUBSIDIES. A gas station attendant fills up a motorcycle gas tank at a gas station in Intramuros, Manila on March 18, 2024. Manila Rep. Joel Chua recommended on Wednesday (April 17, 2024) the use of the Kadiwa market system in implementing the targeted fuel subsidies for poor and low-income households to cushion the impact of rising oil prices. (PNA photo by Yancy Lim)
MANILA – A lawmaker on Wednesday suggested the use of the Kadiwa market system in implementing the targeted fuel subsidies for poor and low-income households to cushion the impact of rising oil prices.
In a statement, Manila Rep. Joel Chua recommended that the Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of Transportation (DOTr) enter into agreements with select and strategically located gasoline stations on the sale of discounted fuel to motorcycle riders, motorcycle taxis, tricycles, and public utility jeepneys (PUJs).
Chua said the Kadiwa market style, which enables the public to buy goods at cheaper rates, could be applied to the government's fuel subsidy program.
"It would be up to the DOE and DOTR to choose which fuel companies and fuel stations shall sell the discounted fuel at the designated pumps. In consultation with the Department of Finance and Department of Budget and Management, it would also be up to the DOE and DOTR to determine the amount of the discount and the budget," he said.
He said the discounted price at select fuel stations for motorcycle riders, motorcycle taxis, tricycles, and PUJs would expand the current coverage of targeted fuel subsidies for land transport, which are limited only to legit PUJs and tricycles.
He added that the selling of the discounted fuel could also be done on a schedule or a weekly basis because daily sales would be too costly.
"I am suggesting the expansion because the current coverage is too limited and does not include other Filipinos who are in the poor and low-income segments of our population," he said.
He said the proposal to expand fuel subsidies could be pilot-tested in Manila and a few other cities and towns before its rollout in other areas.
The government's fuel subsidy program, also known as the DOTr's Pantawid Pasada Program, aims to reduce the impact of rising fuel costs on drivers and operators of various modes of public transportation and delivery services.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) also has fuel subsidies to farmers and fishers affected by soaring oil prices with PHP3,000 worth of aid per beneficiary.
Among the eligible beneficiaries of DA's fuel assistance are farmers with machinery registered under the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture, as well as fishers whose boat tonnage does not exceed 3 metric tons. (PNA)
