By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
Doubling down on President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s firm instruction for a whole-of-government approach to help Filipinos weave their way through volatile oil prices, Malacañang outlined some interventions that are being sorted out by the administration to aid in this resolve.
At a briefing on Monday, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said that the President already called for the creation of a crisis management committee tasked with looking for ways to address the citizenry’s needs during these difficult times.
This, as Castro also acknowledged the concerns of public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers, minimum wage earners, farmers, and fisherfolk that are bearing the brunt of this pressing national concern.
She began her remarks by noting further financial support for transport sector workers,
“Ayon po kay Secretary Gatchalian sa utos na nga rin po ni Pangulong Marcos Jr. na magkakaroon pa po ng karagdagang ayuda, ‘Uunahin lang po, we have to time it’, sabi po niya.”
She added, reiterating the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) leadership in the distribution of P5,000 fuel subsidies to tricycle drivers in Metro Manila, “At ito pa rin ang kaniyang sinabi: ‘In the coming days, DSWD will continue to release cash assistance to affected public utility drivers and this will be done in tranches.’”
Malacañang’s mouthpiece, meanwhile, left the discretion of augmenting the minimum wage of Filipino workers to increase the financial headroom of the common folk to the discretion of Congress and the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board.
Castro, moreover, shared that as of press time, the government is carefully assessing the recommendation of the National Price Coordinating Council to impose a P50 price cap on imported rice and a lawmaker’s proposed bill calling for a temporary freeze on residential and MSME commercial rental rates and loan payments to soften the blow of rising fuel prices on Filipinos.
She ended her statement by clarifying that the Chief Executive has not experienced any pushback in the delayed signing of the reduction of excise tax, stressing that President Marcos Jr. remains committed to using this emergency power to ease the burden of oil price shocks on his constituents.
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