Rep. Sandro Marcos
HOUSE Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” A. Marcos on Tuesday lauded the approval by the Ad Hoc Committee on Legislative Energy Action and Development (LEAD) panel of the consolidated KALINGA Bill, which he said aims to provide relief to most Filipinos impacted by the oil crisis.
“Makakaasa ng tulong ang ating mga kababayan. The proposed KALINGA Act is about helping and protecting Filipinos, the most vulnerable of them – from the poorest of the poor, to transport sector drivers, farmers and fisherfolk, and small business owners,” Marcos said.
Speaker Bojie Dy and Majority Leader Marcos are the authors of the KALINGA (Komprehensibong Alalay sa Livelihood, Inflation, Negosyo, at Goods Assistance) Bill.
Marcos said the proposed law would institutionalize a mechanism or a framework for comprehensively responding to an oil crisis and similar emergencies.
“Hindi na maghahanap ang gobyerno ng batas o mekanismo para tumugon sa isang krisis na nagpapahirap sa ating mga kababayan, gaya ng pagtaas ng presyo na langis. Ito na – ang KALINGA Act,” he said.
The majority leader expressed the hope that the House would soon pass the measure in plenary.
“We are hoping as well that the Senate would act on it as expeditiously as possible,” he said.
He said the nation needs the proposed crisis response framework even after the end of the US-Iran war.
“We envision it as an institutional or permanent response mechanism to any crisis or emergency,” he said.
It was the LEAD committee chaired by Marikina Rep. Romero Quimbo, who also heads the committee on ways and means, that endorsed the Dy-Marcos bill.
Marcos thanked the Quimbo panel for endorsing the bill after two months of hearings and deliberations.
He said the final measure contains inputs from representatives of the executive branch, business groups and other private sector organizations.
“It symbolizes public-private sector cooperation in formulating responses to the raging oil crisis and similar situations that may arise in the future,” he said.
He thanked as well executive officials and private sector representatives who participated in the discussions.
The proposed KALINGA Program, originally contained in Bill No. 8834 authored by Speaker Dy and Majority Leader Marcos, consists of seven component responses: fuel price stabilization; energy supply security and inventory management; targeted assistance; essential goods and logistics stabilization; MSME energy relief and business continuity; energy conservation and demand reduction; and flexible fiscal and regulatory measures.
Speaker Dy has issued a separate statement welcoming the endorsement by the LEAD committee of the bill.
