Lacson, Poe welcome Comelec's exemption of fuel subsidy from election ban

Senators Panfilo Lacson and Grace Poe on Thursday welcomed the Commission on Elections' decision to exempt the fuel subsidy for the transport sector from the election spending ban.

"Way to go and kudos to Comelec for acting expeditiously on such a no-brainer issue involving fuel subsidy grant under the 2022 special provision under the [Department of Transportation] budget," Lacson, a presidential candidate, said in a text message to reporters.

In an interview with reporters Tuesday, Lacson argued that social services and financial assistance from the national government should not be covered by the election spending ban.

Meanwhile, Poe, who chairs the Senate committee on public services, said the decision to exempt the fuel subsidy "is a timely response" from the poll body.

"The order to allow the resumption of fuel subsidy distribution to public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers and operators is a timely response by the Commission on Elections," she said.

However, the senator maintained that the government should speed up the distribution of the aid using digital platforms.

"We urge the government to speed up efforts on the use of digital payments through financial service providers like e-wallets for a more efficient aid distribution during a crisis," she said.

Poe also suggested the use of the National ID System to make it easier to identify and verify the data of the beneficiaries.

"Help is most effective when it reaches our people in their time of need," she ended.

On Thursday, Comelec Commissioner George Garcia announced that the body granted the petition of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to exempt its distribution of fuel subsidy to operators and drivers from the election ban.

LTFRB on Monday stopped the fuel distribution for PUV due to the public spending ban that is in effect from March 25 to May 8, 2022.

As of March 29, LTFRB executive director Maria Kristina Cassion said some 110,287 beneficiaries had already received their subsidies.

Under Comelec's Resolution No. 10747, a certificate of exemption is needed to implement activities and programs on social welfare projects and services amid this ban.

The LTFRB in March started distributing P6,500 fuel subsidies to over 377,000 qualified PUV drivers and operators to help alleviate their misery due to the current Ukraine-Russia conflict, which has resulted in a series of fuel price hikes.—AOL, GMA News