ILOILO – The provincial government is open to extending financial assistance to public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers adversely affected by soaring fuel prices. But where to source the funds is the challenge.
Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. said provincial government funds are utilized based on its Annual Investment Plan (AIP).
Implementing programs and projects not included in the AIP may be difficult because the provincial government first needs to look for funds for them, he said.
Just this Tuesday, March 8, gas prices further soared by as much as P3.80 per liter of gasoline and by P5.50 per liter of diesel.
To rein in the increases, transport groups urged the national government to suspend the 12 percent value-added tax and excise tax on fuel.
Defensor, however, is not too keen on this.
“If you balance, mas pabor ang laye (referring to excise tax) nga ina sa aton because of the revenue we can get and services and programs you can implement,” said Defensor.
As for the possible assistance, an official of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) stressed the importance of government subsidies in helping address the impact of rising fuel prices on the public.
NEDA undersecretary Rosemarie Edillion said the government has allocated under this year’s national budget a P2.5-billion fuel subsidies for public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers and operators and a P500 million subsidy for the agriculture sector.
She said NEDA is requesting for an increase in the amount of subsidies to P5 billion for the transport sector and to P1.1 billion for the agriculture sector.
She, however, said they need to wait for the March 2022 fiscal report to check if there will be an increase in revenue collections, which will be tapped for the additional subsidies. (With a report from the Philippine News Agency/PN)
