Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy on Tuesday welcomed the approval of the substitute KALINGA bill by the Ad Hoc Committee on Legislative Energy Action and Development (LEAD), saying the measure marks a major step toward protecting Filipino families and businesses from fuel shocks, soaring energy costs, and global market disruptions.
In a statement, Dy said the House leadership worked closely with economic managers, transport groups, labor representatives, agriculture stakeholders, energy officials, and business groups affected by rising fuel costs to ensure that the measure would respond to the ripple effects of spiraling fuel prices across the economy.
“This substitute bill is the product of listening — listening to our workers, our drivers, our farmers, our fishermen, our entrepreneurs, and our economic managers. This is not a theoretical exercise. This is a direct response to what Filipinos are experiencing on the ground,” he said.
He stressed that the KALINGA measure is anchored on the principle of “relief now, resilience for the future,” a framework repeatedly highlighted during the LEAD hearings.
“Hindi sapat na tugunan lang natin ang kasalukuyang krisis. Ang tunay na hamon ay paano natin titiyakin na hindi basta-basta mayayanig ang ekonomiya at kabuhayan ng mga Pilipino sa susunod na fuel shock (It is not enough to just respond to the current crisis. The real challenge is how to ensure that the economy and the livelihood of Filipinos won’t be shaken by the next duel shock),” he said.
“We want a future where global oil price spikes will no longer automatically translate into deeper hardship for Filipino families,” the Speaker added.
The proposed KALINGA Act, initiated by Dy and House Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos, was crafted after nearly two months of marathon hearings and consultations and is intended to serve as Congress’s long-term roadmap for responding to future global oil shocks while delivering immediate relief to sectors hardest hit by rising fuel prices and inflation.
The substitute bill and its corresponding committee report were approved, subject to amendments, form, and style, during Tuesday’s LEAD committee meeting presided over by Marikina City Rep. Miro Quimbo, chairperson of the House Committee on Ways and Means.
The Speaker thanked Quimbo for steering the marathon deliberations that produced the substitute measure.
He likewise thanked the chairpersons and members of the 12 other committees comprising the LEAD joint panel.
Rep. Marcos also lauded the approval of the measure by the LEAD, saying it would provide relief to most Filipinos impacted by the oil crisis.
“Makakaasa ng tulong ang ating mga kababayan (The people can expect help). 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 in a separate statement.
Marcos said the proposed law would institutionalize a mechanism or a framework for comprehensively responding to an oil crisis and similar emergencies.
“We are hoping as well that the Senate would act on it as expeditiously as possible,” he said.
The LEAD panel is composed of the Committees on Ways and Means, Energy, Agriculture and Food, Foreign Affairs, Labor and Employment, Transportation, Information and Communications Technology, Economic Affairs, Social Services, Trade and Industry, Overseas Workers Affairs, and Appropriations.
KALINGA – short for Komprehensibong Alalay sa Livelihood, Inflation, Negosyo at Goods Assistance – seeks to institutionalize a national crisis-response framework that would automatically trigger government interventions during extraordinary fuel price increases, supply disruptions, inflation spikes, and energy emergencies.
The measure includes targeted aid for vulnerable households and affected sectors, along with fuel efficiency initiatives, renewable energy promotion, energy resiliency programs, and supply stabilization measures aimed at reducing the country’s dependence on imported fuel. (PNA)
