By:
Ronnel W. Domingo / 05:24 AM October 06, 2018
The Department of
Energy is doubling down on efforts to mitigate the effect of rising fuel
prices, a main driver of worsening inflation, particularly by means of
discounts for operators of public utility vehicles.
Energy Secretary
Alfonso G. Cusi yesterday said the DOE was “exhausting all options” to mitigate
rising fuel prices, and also called for the public to take up practices through
which fuel is used efficiency.
“Despite global forces affecting the country’s
fuel prices, we are in constant communication with the oil industry players on
how we can help the public amid the global oil situation,” Cusi said in a
statement.
“We’ve been exploring
higher and expanded fuel discounts to public utility vehicles, looking at
nearby countries for lower priced supply and even went to unpopular options to
ensure that consumers are protected from the impact of this global price
situation,” he added.
As the Philippine
Statistics Authority yesterday announced that the consumer price index rose for
the ninth consecutive month to reach 6.7 percent in September, government
economic managers in a joint statement called for a quick response by way of
measures managing energy demand, amid an outlook that points to a continued
rise in global fuel prices.
“One of the proposed
measures is to reduce the country’s overall energy demand through the DOE’s
e-Power Mo program, the Public Utility Vehicles Modernization program of the
Department of Transportation, and other renewable energy initiatives,” they
said.
The e-Power Mo program
is an education and awareness campaign that hammers into the public
consciousness common tips on using electricity efficiently.
“Moreover, many public
utility drivers will benefit from DOE’s continued and expanding partnership
with various oil companies to provide fuel discounts,” the economic team said.
“This is apart from a
plan by the DOE and the Department of Trade and Industry to grant fuel
subsidies to canned sardines and other food manufacturers that are also reliant
on fuel products,” they added.
Earlier, the DOE said
at least 10 oil firms representing a total of 1,317 retail stations were
offering discounts of between P1 and P3 per liter to PUV operators.
These companies include
Petron, Shell, Caltex, Phoenix, Unioil, Jetti, PTT, Seaoil, Filpride, and
Total.
“Simple steps such as carpooling, walking or
riding bikes to nearby destinations are some changes that could reduce our
dependence on fuel,” Cusi said.
Also, the Department of
Transportation is heading the multi-agency Pantawid Pasada Program, a cash
transfer scheme which is intended to cover all of the 179,852 “legitimate
jeepneys” or those with existing LTFRB franchise within two years of
implementing the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law.
The Pantawid Pasada
cash transfer will be done in two yearly installments starting with P5,000 per
jeepney covering the latter half of 2018. This means a monthly subsidy of
P833.33 per vehicle.
The amount will be jacked
up for a second installment in 2019 at P20,514.82 or a monthly subsidy of
P1,709.57 per jeepney.
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