Too small, but better than nothing.
This was House Deputy Speaker and Bagong Henerasyon (BH) Party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera's take on the P200 monthly fuel subsidy that Malacañang plans to distribute to poor Filipino families amid the fuel price crisis.
"We welcome the government’s decision to provide P33 billion worth of cash subsidies to some 12 million poor families amid soaring oil prices. The cash subsidy will be in the form of additional aid through unconditional cash transfers amounting to P200 per month per household for a year," Herrera said in a statement Thursday afternoon, March 17.
"The P200 monthly subsidy may be too small, but we believe it is better than nothing," the lady solon noted.
She said that any amount of assistance from the government during this time of skyrocketing local pump prices "is really helpful and much appreciated".
"This will somehow ease the burden of rapidly increasing fuel prices on poor households," added Herrera.
"The executive department itself recognized that the amount is not enough, but as Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has said, this is what the government can afford as of this time given the significant pressure the Covid-19 pandemic has placed on government’s finances," she further said.
Herrera said her party-list is still hopeful that the government will eventually consider suspending or slashing fuel excise taxes, "which for us is the most equitable way to address the impact of higher fuel prices".
The move to provide for a P200 monthly fuel subsidy came alongside the Palace's decision to retain the excise tax on different fuel products.