Senate Energy Committee Chairperson Senator Win Gatchalian urged the government to reactivate the fuel subsidy “Pantawid Pasada Program” (PPP) which aims to provide relief to the public transport sector and cushion the impact of high fuel prices on the commuting public, on Thursday, October 14.
In his statement, he emphasized the importance of protecting the local transport sector that consists of public transportation drivers and commuters from the impact of the recent increases in oil price.
“Ang panawagan ko sa ating pamahalaan ay protektahan natin ang ating mga tsuper at pasahero,” he said.
“Dito papasok ‘yung programa na Pantawid Pasada kung saan pinopondohan muna ng gobyerno para ma-absorb ‘yung pagtaas ng presyo ng petrolyo,” he added.
Meanwhile, Gatchalian also called on the Department of Energy (DOE) to monitor the compliance of oil companies on their inventory requirements to ensure adequate supply and to help mitigate further price increases in the coming months. He also mentioned oil companies particularly Chevron Philippines Inc, PTT Philippines, Seaoil Philippines, Petro Gazz, Unioil Petroleum Philippines, and Cleanfuel have imposed as much as P1.50 per liter for diesel, P1.45 per liter for kerosene, and P1.30 per liter for gasoline, effective starting Tuesday, October 12, 2021.
He pointed out that there is a potential average increase of P1,422.50 in the monthly expense of jeepneys for gasoline and a potential average of P598.36 for diesel. He also noted the increase of the price of gasoline to P58.85 per liter this month compared to P51.25 in October last year while diesel prices rose to P47.90 per liter this month compared to last year’s P35.46.
“Itong sitwasyon natin ay maaari pang lumala dahil bukod sa winter season na, maraming ekonomiya na sa buong mundo ang unti-unting nagbubukas at dumadami na rin ang gumagamit ng petrolyo. Inaasahan nating tuloy-tuloy pa ang pagtaas ng presyo ng langis sa pandaigdigang merkado hanggang sa katapusan ng taon,” Gatchalian ended.
Photo Credit: Facebook/WinGatchalian74