House pushes okay of P5.5B DOTr funding
SPEAKER Martin Romualdez yesterday said the contingent of the House of Representatives to the bicameral conference meetings with senators on the proposed P5.268 trillion national budget for 2023 will push for the retention of funds allocated for fuel subsidy and “Libreng Sakay” programs under the Department of Transportation (DOTR).
Congressmen have earmarked P5.5 billion for the Pantawid Pasada Fuel Program (P2.5 billion), Libreng Sakay (P2 billion) and bike lanes construction (P1 billion) program.
The funding is part of the House’s P77 billion institutional amendments in the proposed national budget for 2023 which the House leadership hopes the Senate will not oppose.
“This is one of the pro-people provisions of the proposed national budget. Kailangan ito ng mga mamamayan (the people need this),” said the Speaker, who has been urging the Senate to accept the House amendments.
The House and Senate contingents tasked to reconcile their differing versions of the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) held an initial bicameral meeting at the Manila Golf Club in Makati City last Friday.
The Speaker assured Malacañang and the public that the 2023 budget will be approved before Congress goes on Christmas break next month.
Romualdez stressed the fuel subsidy program remains one of the government services that drivers and operators look forward to amid the rising oil prices that continue to batter the public transport sector.
On the other hand, the service contracting or Libreng Sakay program of the DOTR and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) started in 2020 and was mandated under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act. It was continued in 2021 and 2022.
“Itong Pantawid Pasada at Libreng Sakay, diretsong ginhawa ito sa ating mga kababayan. Ayuda ito sa mga drayber at operators sa panahon ng pagtaas ng presyo ng produktong petrolyo. At ang libreng sakay naman ay malaking tulong sa ating commuter na nahihirapang pagkasyahin ang kita sa isang araw (The Pantawid Pasada and Libreng Sakay, these will go directly to our people. This is a financial aid to drivers and operators at a time of skyrocketing petroleum prices while Libreng Sakay is a big help to commuters who are trying to makle ends meet),” Romualdez said.
Bike lanes, meanwhile, encourage citizens to use bicycles to go to and from work.
The House’s institutional amendments include “ayuda” or assistance programs such as the P12 billion for the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations or AICS (P5B), upgrade of senior citizens’ pension through the National Commission of Senior Citizens (P5B), and sustainable livelihood program (P2.5B).
Another amendment is the P5 billion for the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program (P3 billion) and livelihood (P2 billion).
Other parts of the P77 billion institutional amendments are as follows: Department of Health’s (DOH) P20.25 billion allotted for various programs such as medical assistance for indigent patients (P13 billion), healthcare and non-healthcare workers and frontliners (P5 billion), support for specialty hospitals (P2 billion), and Cancer Assistance Program (P250 million); Department of Education’s (DepEd) P10 billion for school and classroom construction and special education programs (P50 million); Technical Education Skills and Development Authority’s (TESDA) P5 billion for its training and scholarship programs, Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) P5 billion for its Tulong Dunong program, Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) P10 billion for the construction of water systems in underserved upland barangays, Department of Information and Communications Technology’s (DICT) P1.5 billion for the national broadband project, Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) P500 million for the construction of its new building, and Philippine National Police’s (PNP) P300 million to train law enforcement officers in coordination with the Department of Justice (DOJ).
There is also a P250 million budget for the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) program to assist the creative industry pursuant to Republic Act (RA) No. 11904, P150 million for the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), P147 million for the Office of Solicitor General (OSG), and P50 million for the National Electrification Administration’s (NEA) barangay and sitio electrification program.
