THE government has identified up to P238 billion that can be mobilized against the fallout from rising fuel prices, with the Marcos administration opting for targeted assistance instead of across-the-board subsidies, Acting Budget Secretary Rolando Toledo told the House on Wednesday.
Speaking before the Legislative Energy Action Development Council, Toledo said the amount would come from available appropriations under the 2026 budget and continuing funds.
“To respond to the crisis we are experiencing, we have identified around P238 billion from available appropriations,” Toledo told lawmakers.
He said the administration’s position is to respond aggressively but still guard fiscal space by directing aid to those who need it most.
“We have to be prudent. The assistance must be targeted to those who are most vulnerable,” Toledo sai
Toledo reported that P2.5 billion has already been released for transport assistance, along with another P1 billion for service contracting to keep public transport operations afloat under higher fuel costs.
He said cash support is also being rolled out through the Aid to Individuals in Crisis Situations program, with funds already allotted and disbursement continuing as agencies submit requests.
Support for overseas Filipino workers has likewise been funded through the Department of Migrant Workers and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.
Toledo said the government can still expand current safety-net programs if the crisis worsens.
Among the existing channels he identified were the Department of Labor and Employment’s TUPAD program and health-sector interventions under the Department of Health.
For the farm and fisheries sectors, he said roughly P10 billion has already been released as presidential assistance to help offset higher production and logistics costs.
The budget briefing came before the LEAD Council, the 13-committee House body assembled under Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III to coordinate energy, fiscal and sectoral responses to the oil shock.
The council is being presided over by Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo, chair of the Committee on Ways and Means, who is leading the chamber’s unified hearings on the crisis.
Toledo’s presentation gave lawmakers a first detailed look at the resources currently available as Congress weighs further intervention against the inflationary pressure coming from global oil volatility.
