JAKARTA - The Philippine government is preparing fuel subsidies and logistical assistance to contain the impact of rising fuel prices on farmers and food distribution. Citing the Philippine News Agency (PNA), Thursday, April 2, this step was taken amid a spike in oil prices due to tensions in the Middle East.
Philippine Agriculture Minister Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said his ministry had applied for a quick response fund of 1 billion Philippine pesos. The funds are expected to be disbursed only in May. However, the government still has a 50 million peso fuel subsidy from last year that can be used immediately, especially for mountainous agricultural areas.
The subsidy is intended, among other things, to reduce the cost of transporting crops from Benguet to Metro Manila. The ministry targets the distribution to start in the third week of April.
In addition to fuel subsidies, the Philippine government is also preparing logistical assistance for food-carrying trucks and opening coordination with related agencies and toll road operators so that the cost of distribution does not burden the price of food.
Previously, the Philippine Department of Transportation stated that public vehicles and cargo trucks would receive a discount in the form of a rebate on three main sections, namely the NLEX, SLEX, and STAR Tollway, starting March 23. This program is valid for two months and can be extended after evaluation.
Tiu Laurel said his party would also coordinate with the Department of Transportation, the Philippine Port Authority, and operators of a number of other toll roads, including TPLEX, so that food distribution remains smooth and food prices do not rise.
The move is important because the Cordillera Administrative Region supplies about 85 percent of the Philippines' highland vegetable needs. Most of the results are sent to Metro Manila, Visayas, and other areas in Luzon.
In the field, as reported by PNA, the regional office of the Philippine Department of Agriculture in the Cordillera Administrative Region (DA-CAR) has deployed 19 trucks to transport agricultural produce directly from the fields to buyers. Regional Director of DA-CAR Jennilyn Dawayan said the fastest assistance currently being implemented is the use of government-owned Kadiwa trucks and vehicles that have been handed over to local governments to help farmers during the crisis.
The Philippine government has also ensured that food supplies are still safe. According to Tiu Laurel, vegetable supplies remain stable despite the rising transportation costs. Additional shipping costs now reach 4,000 to 12,000 Philippine pesos per trip for a 10-wheel truck, or about 1 peso per kilogram.
He also emphasized that rice stocks were sufficient because the Philippines was at the peak of the harvest season. The production target for March reached 1.7 million tons of grain, while April is estimated at 900,000 tons. At the same time, rice imports are still coming in and can be added after the harvest season to strengthen food security. According to Tiu Laurel, the Philippines is not facing food shortages and the National Food Authority warehouses are almost full.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
