THE proposed Kalinga Act should be understood as a national crisis-response playbook against fuel price shocks, not merely as another ayuda program, because its larger purpose is to give the government a predictable system for protecting consumers, transport workers, farmers, fisherfolk, businesses and ordinary households whenever global oil prices spike.
Marikina City Rep. Miro Quimbo, chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means and overall chair of the multi-panel committee that heard the measure, said the proposal backed by Speaker Faustino “Bojie” G. Dy III and Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” A. Marcos was designed to replace scattered, improvised and politicized responses with a standing framework that the government can activate when fuel crises threaten the economy.
“Siguro magandang paglilinaw sa Kalinga Bill, hindi tama na i-describe siya as simple as an ayuda program because it is not. Ang Kalinga Bill ay sa pangarap at pagmimithi ni Speaker Bojie Dy at Majority Leader Sandro Marcos,” Quimbo said.
The House has approved the Kalinga bill on second reading as part of its response to the continuing vulnerability of the Philippines to global fuel shocks, especially because the country remains heavily dependent on imported oil and ordinary Filipinos often feel the impact through fare hikes, food prices, power costs and small business expenses.
“Ang gusto natin dito ma-create isang framework kung saan ang gobyerno ay nakakaroon ng framework within which paano siya magre-react each time nakakaroon ng oil price surge or crisis. Kasi alam natin na hindi ito ngayon lang mangyayari,” Quimbo said.
Quimbo explained that the country needs a more disciplined response because fuel price spikes are recurring threats, not one-time events that government can address through ad hoc programs.
“Nakikita-kita natin ito na as long as the Philippines remains 100 percent import dependent on oil, maaapektuhan talaga tayo tuwing nakakaroon ng pagsirit ang presyo ng langis. So nagke-create tayo ng framework dahil gusto natin may step one, step two, step three ang gobyerno each time nangyayari ang crisis na ito,” Quimbo said.
At the center of the measure is a three-part framework that seeks to guide government action when oil prices surge: contain inflation, direct assistance to the first and most affected sectors and move the economy gradually away from oil dependence.
“Nagdadala ito ng tatlong bagay; una, nagdadala ito ng malinaw na mga hakbangin pagdating sa kung ano ang steps na dapat kinukuha para hindi kalat-kalat ang activity sa gobyerno. Meaning ang focus talaga natin dito is hindi ito parang COVID na lahat ng tao may problema,” Quimbo said.
He said the Kalinga framework recognizes that the immediate problem in a fuel crisis begins with oil-dependent sectors, especially transport, energy users and agriculture, before it spills over into food prices and the daily cost of living.
“Ibig sabihin kung meron tayong tina-target na beneficiaries, naka-target talaga siya sa unang naaapektuhan. So transportation ito, energy related, gumagamit directly ng mahal na bilihin ng langis,” Quimbo said.
The bill would require government to maintain ready lists of qualified beneficiaries based on clear objectives, a safeguard meant to prevent duplication, delay and political discretion when assistance has to be released quickly.
“So inaatasan under sa Kalinga ang pamahalaan na magkaroon na ng ready list of beneficiaries base sa objectives na ito para hindi naghahanap ng listahan, doble listahan, naghahanap sa kapitan, sa mayor, sa congressman, sa senador, sa governor, hindi na ganoon. So merong fixed set of beneficiaries for that given objectives para insulated siya sa politika at nami-meet natin ang specific target,” Quimbo said.
Beyond emergency assistance, Quimbo said the measure also looks at the structural weakness that makes the country vulnerable every time global oil prices rise: the economy’s dependence on imported fuel.
“At ang pangatlong framework, kung papaano tayo mas lilihis na sa oil-dependent economy, so nakalagay rin sa Kalinga bill, ano ‘yung steps na ating kailangan gawin so that we become less dependent on oil. So we’re talking about tax incentives for employers or companies na nagkakaroon ng solarization o kaya renewable source of energy, hindi na galing sa power plants lang na galing sa diesel,” Quimbo said.
The proposal also contemplates incentives for employers that support electric vehicle access for workers and a stronger government shift toward electric vehicles in its own fleet, measures meant to reduce public exposure to future oil price shocks.
Quimbo said the bill contains assistance components for different sectors, including ordinary employees, the middle class, the agriculture sector, fisherfolk, minimum wage earners, the lower middle class and micro, small and medium enterprises, but stressed that these interventions are part of a wider resilience strategy.
“Totoo maraming aspeto doon yung iba’t ibang ayuda sa iba’t ibang sektor. From the ordinary employee, from the middle class, agriculture sector, fisherfolk, pagdating sa minimum wage, pagdating sa lower middle class, lahat po nandoon,” Quimbo said.
The bigger value of the Kalinga bill, he added, is that it tells families, workers and businesses that government will no longer wait for panic to spread before acting on a fuel crisis.
“Pero kagyat lang siya or it’s really in consonance with a bigger framework which is to make the economy more resilient such that if the oil price hike crisis happens again, we are more ready. And more importantly, what it does is it gives businessmen and the economy confidence,” Quimbo said.
Quimbo said confidence matters because uncertainty itself can push prices higher, especially when businesses and consumers do not know how government will respond to a fuel crisis.
“Kapag alam ng ekonomiya na ang gobyerno ay merong framework how to respond, mas nawawalan ng uncertainty. And uncertainty is the number one driver of increase in prices of commodities,” Quimbo said.
For Quimbo, the Kalinga bill is ultimately a practical measure for the masa because it seeks to stop fuel shocks from spreading into food, transport, electricity, livelihood and household budgets, while giving government a less politicized and more predictable way of helping those who are hit first
