Camarines Sur 5th district Rep. Migz Villafuerte is optimistic of the swift plenary passage of the proposed “Komprehensibong Alalay sa Livelihood, Inflation, Negosyo, at Goods Assistance (KALINGA) Act”, which the House of Representatives has positioned as an all-encompassing solution to the fuel price crisis.

This, after the measure, embodied in House Bill (HB) No. 8834, recently hurdled the House Ad Hoc Committee on Legislative Energy Action and Development (LEAD) chaired by Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Miro Quimbo.

Villafuerte, in a statement over the weekend, said the bill was meant to "put in place a national emergency response and resiliency framework network...to help prop up the economy and ensure energy security in the face of the [Middle East] crisis"

“This committee-passed measure aims to establish a KALINGA program designed to fast-track and further broaden the government’s response mechanisms to the prolonged crisis, including the provision of social safety nets or interventions for the poor and other sectors highly vulnerable to the war-induced global energy squeeze and economic downturn,” explained the Bicolano, who was part of the ad hoc panel.

No less than House Speaker Faustino "Bojie" Dy III and Majority Leader Sandro Marcos are the main authors of the crucial crisis response measure.

The bill has been endorsed for plenary consideration following its approval at the panel level. From there, Quimbo is expected to lead the push for HB No. 8834's passage on second reading, and then on third and final reading.

"Sa ilalim ng panukalang ito, lilikhain ang KALINGA Program upang mapabilis ang pagtugon ng pamahalaan, makapagbigay ayuda at suporta sa mga apektadong sektor, at mapanotiling stable ang suplay at presyo ng mga pangunahing bilihin at serbisyo," Villafuerte said in a Facebook post.

(Under this proposal, the KALINGA Program will be created to accelerate government response, provide aid and support to affected sectors, and maintain stability in the supply and prices of essential goods and services.)

Although the KALINGA program is intended for the government to best deal with the oil price surge and global economic downturn caused by the Middle East conflict, the proposed crisis response framework is designed to be the default program for future emergencies after the current Iran war.

Meanwhile, Villafuerte expressed the hope that the new Senate leadership under Senate President Alan Cayetano would similarly act on the KALINGA measure with a sense of urgency in the face of the current global oil shock that is undermining the Marcos administration’s economic initiatives.

The first regular session of the 20th Congress will adjourn sine die on June 6, meaning there's plenty of time to advance the bill in plenary.