Benguet lawmaker Eric Yap, also ACT-CIS partylist representative, is calling for an expanded fuel subsidy program to the transport sector, so as to widen the reach and provide assistance to those in the provinces and countryside areas.
This amid a series of fuel price hikes since January this year. “With the tight global oil supply given the geopolitical tension between Russia and Ukraine and with the increasing demand for fuel as the general public goes back to ‘Normal,’ we are on the verge of crisis.”
Yap laments that most affected with the price hikes here are those in the transport and agricultural sectos. “We urge for the immediate implementation and distribution of fuel subsidies to help our kababayans withstand this difficult time. Moreover, we call for the concerned agencies to set clear parameters and also prioritize those in the provinces, most especially those in food producing areas like Benguet. We should not forget those who are outside the metropolitan who are equally, if not more, affected by the oil price surge,” the solon pushed.
“Our farmers in the province have to transport their produce from the farm to the market through a mountainous terrain, which requires the vehicle to consume more fuel and oil. If oil prices continue to spike, the profit of our farmers will further diminish due to the significant increase in hauling costs from farm to market. Inevitably, the country’s food supply will also be at stake,” Yap noted.2
“This is an urgent matter, we have to think and move fast. These unwarranted oil price hikes will soon translate to fare hikes, higher electricity bills, spike in food prices, higher costs of transporting goods, among others. This is what we are trying to avoid,” he added.
“We will lobby for the conduct of special sessions in Congress to collectively discuss and pass a measure automatically reducing or suspending the fuel excise tax once a certain price is reached. This shall benefit everyone, not only the transport sector. We have to ease the impact of the rising oil prices experienced by the ordinary Filipinos,” Yap stressed.
