NextGen Day

MANILA, Philippines — Acting presidential spokesperson Martin Andanar said on Thursday that he sees the need to expand the existing social amelioration program (SAP) to help Filipinos cope with the skyrocketing prices of petroleum items brought on by the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Andanar remarked in an interview with DZBB that he supports the distribution of a monetary subsidy but recognizes the difficulties in raising funding for the program.

“If it were up to me, I would prefer cash help; if it were up to me, everyone would have SAP,” he remarked.

The SAP is a monthly cash assistance program for low-income families whose livelihoods have been impacted by the Covid-19 outbreak.

Andanar repeated the Department of Finance’s worries over MPs’ proposals to suspend fuel excise duties in the face of rising oil prices.

“Sapagkat kapag tinanggal mo iyong excise tax siyempre maraming pondo ang mawawala doon sa social services sa DSWD [Department of Social Welfare and Development], nandoon nga iyong magiging difficulty natin.” So, kaya kailangan talagang balansehin nang husto itong problema at ang soluyon para hindi naman gaanong maaapektuhan din iyong ibang mga services ng ating pamahalaan (That is where our dilemma will be because, of course, when you remove your excise tax, a lot of funds will be lost in social services at DSWD. As a result, we must strike a balance between the problem and the solution so that our other government services are not adversely affected),” he added.

The Department of Finance had previously voiced worry that suspending fuel excise duties would result in revenue losses and stifle economic growth.

Andanar stated that the ultimate decision will be made by the government’s economic team.

“Pa rin sa ating economic managers, pa rin pa rin pa rin pa rin pa rin pa rin pa Although I am not a member of the economic cluster, logic would dictate that saan ka kukuha ng pera (it would still be up to our economic managers). He said, “I’m not part of the economic cluster, but logic would tell you that, where do you get your funds)?”

Rep. Joey Salceda of Albay’s 2nd District, who chairs the House Committee on Ways and Means, had stated that he will ask the economic managers if the SAP could be expanded to include public utility vehicles.

On Monday, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua announced that the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has proposed increasing the fuel subsidy for PUV drivers from PHP2.5 billion to PHP5 billion to help mitigate the impact of rising oil prices exacerbated by the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

The first tranche was scheduled to be distributed in March, followed by the second tranche in April.

Farmers and fishermen who use gasoline-dependent agricultural machinery will receive a comparable fuel subsidy from the government.

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