Lawmakers on Thursday said the financial assistance to public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers and the fuel subsidy for the agriculture sector should not be considered as election campaign spending.
House Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez welcomed the decision of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to allow the distribution of P6,500 financial assistance to PUV drivers.
But Rodriguez said the poll body should also exempt from the public spending ban the fuel subsidy for farmers to aid them from skyrocketing prices of farm inputs.
“I believe that the fuel ayuda for the agriculture sector [should likewise be] exempted from the Comelec. It is in the same situation as the PUV drivers sector,” the House leader said.
Comelec Commissioner George M. Garcia said the Comelec en banc has yet to approve the request of DA to have its P500-million fuel voucher program. Garcia said the Comelec en banc is expected to tackle DA’s petition during its meeting next week.
Also, House Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate asked the election body to also fast-track the go signal for aid distribution to the agricultural and other sectors hit by the rampant increases in oil prices.
“This ayuda is long overdue and people expect the poll body to act with dispatch and not to repeat the callous dilly-dallying of the DBM [Department of Budget and Management], DOTr [Department of Transportation] and DILG [Department of the Interior and Local Government],” he said.
“For as long as the Duterte administration has not called for a special session of Congress to suspend the excise tax on oil, Comelec should exempt from the election ban aid to be given to the agricultural and transport sector as well as the poorest Filipinos. These should not be considered as election campaign spending but these should still be monitored strictly as these may be used for partisan purposes,” added Zarate.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has already appealed to the Comelec to exempt its fertilizer and fuel subsidy programs from the election-spending ban.
Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said the DA’s programs affected by the public spending ban include the fuel subsidy for corn farmers and fishermen; fertilizer subsidy for rice, corn, and cassava farmers; cash assistance to rice farmers and even the procurement of farm machinery by the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization.
Dar said that they received a notice from the Comelec to stop the distribution of their fuel subsidy program, which has been in implementation for two weeks. He added that they have not distributed a substantial amount of the P500-million subsidy since the Comelec has stopped its operations.
Moreover, Rodriguez, who represents Cagayan de Oro’s second district, said the release of these funds should be devoid of politics.
“It is a government agency that is giving the money to PUV drivers. The LTFRB should not allow any politician to meddle or be associated with the distribution. The process should be devoid of politics,” he said.
According to LTFRB data, as of April 5 when the distribution was stopped, only 110,200 out of the over 377,000 intended beneficiaries have received their ayuda.
Rodriguez said many drivers in Cagayan de Oro City and Northern Mindanao still have to be given their financial assistance.
“The Comelec should not wait for more increases in the pump prices of diesel, gasoline and other oil products before approving LTFRB’s application for an exemption from the spending ban,” he said.
He said the funds are intended to help those in the public transportation sector cope with difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
These difficulties have been aggravated by soaring fuel prices brought about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he added.
He said such spikes would effectively decrease the value of the financial assistance that PUV drivers would receive.
For his part, House Transportation Committee Chairman Edgar Mary Sarmiento said the Comelec’s decision provides great relief for the tens of thousands of PUV drivers and operators nationwide who bore the brunt of the series of fuel price increases.
He added that this would also ensure the full utilization of the P2.5-billion fuel subsidy which was allotted by Congress through the General Appropriations Act (GAA 2022) and another P2.5 billion sourced from the excise tax for petroleum products.
The government has partially distributed the subsidy targeting 377,000 drivers and operators at P6,500 each.
The distribution however was halted on March 25 pending Comelec’s position on LTFRB’s request for exemption from the prevailing ban on cash disbursement during the election period.