MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government can tap as much as P230.2 billion to fund cash subsidies, fuel procurement and programs to cushion the disruptions arising from the Middle East war, acting Budget Secretary Rolando Toledo said.
In an interview yesterday with radio dzBB, Toledo said that around P200 billion is drawn from the 2026 budget, while P10.9 billion comes from continuing appropriations under the 2025 budget.
The P20 billion from automatic appropriations has already been released to the Department of Energy to beef up the country’s fuel supply.
He assured the public that the government’s finances are sound enough to confront the country’s energy woes, saying the funds have long been built into the national budget before the crisis.
Of this amount, the Department of Social Welfare and Development will receive P63.8 billion, while the Department of Transportation will roll out a P2.5 billion-fuel subsidy. The Department of Migrant Workers is set to disburse P2 billion in aid for overseas Filipino workers.
“Just in case we need to do something, or if we go beyond the P230 billion and we don’t know how long this crisis will last, the government is looking at efficiency measures that we can implement,” he said.
To plug the shortfall, Toledo said the government is weighing cuts to non-essential maintenance and operating expenses to free up funds.
Food security
Senate committee on agriculture, food and agrarian reform chair Francis Pangilinan called on the government to have an emergency response to ensure the country’s food supply.
He said the government can tap into the following budget items in the 2026 national budget – P3.11-billion budget of the Agricultural Credit Policy Council, the P2.4-billion budget for high-value crops under the Department of Agriculture (DA), the P6.5-billion budget of the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. and the P1-billion budget for the Quick Response Fund of the DA.
“If we have an emergency situation, you have a fund there in the DA, use it to ensure (food security) and then we will work on – if it comes to that – bayanihan type legislation. For this crisis, let us pursue this,” Pangilinan said during a committee hearing in Nueva Ecija yesterday meant to probe the “systematic collapse” of onion farmgate prices.
He criticized the importation of onions despite the harvest season and the energy crisis, lamenting the failure to fully implement the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage law against smugglers.
Suspend deductions
Sen. Imee Marcos, on the other hand, urged the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance System, Pag-IBIG Fund and Philippine Health Insurance Corp. to implement a temporary suspension of collections and a loan moratorium to ease the financial burden of their contributors.
The senator said workers, farmers, fisherfolk and small business owners are the hardest hit by the crisis, as rising oil prices drive up the cost of transportation and basic goods. — Marc Jayson Cayabyab
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