House panel approves Kalinga measure vs. oil crisis

The House Ad Hoc Committee on Legislative Energy Action and Development (LEAD) has approved the Kalinga bill, a measure that will provide various forms of short- and long-term aid amid the lingering surge in oil prices stemming from the Middle East conflict.

Specifically, Kalinga bill, which stands for Komprehensibong Alalay sa Livelihood, Inflation, Negosyo, at Goods Assistance, seeks to institutionalize a national crisis-response framework by setting thresholds that would automatically trigger government interventions during extraordinary fuel price increases, supply disruptions, inflation spikes, and energy emergencies.

These government responses include targeted aid for vulnerable households and affected sectors, along with fuel-efficiency initiatives, renewable energy promotion, energy resilience programs, and supply-stabilization measures aimed at reducing the country’s dependence on imported fuel.

Further, the Kalinga program covers assistance programs, price stability for essential goods, and support for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to keep their operations running.

Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III of Isabela, one of the authors of the measure, said it “is a direct response to what Filipinos are experiencing on the ground.”

“We want a future where global oil price spikes will no longer automatically translate into deeper hardship for Filipino families,” Dy said in a statement.

As a result of the approval, House ways and means panel chairperson and Marikina Second District Rep. Miro Quimbo directed the committee secretariat to file, as soon as practicable, the approved substitute bill and its corresponding committee report with the Committee on Rules through the Bills and Index Service.

“Kalinga bill seeks to address both sides of the crisis: direct and targeted relief for vulnerable households and sectors; and stabilization measures to keep food, transport, energy, jobs, essential services, and supply chains moving,” Quimbo said in a separate statement.

“The people demand us to act—swiftly, decisively, and wisely. And we must do so before another Filipino family is pushed deeper into hardship by this crisis,” he added.—AOL, GMA News