Amid the runaway prices of petroleum products, a party-list lawmaker has called on the Department of Agriculture (DA) to assist farmers and fishermen in listing up in the Registry System for the Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) to avail themselves of the agency’s fuel subsidy.
Rep. Wilbert Lee of AGRI party-list group made the call following the DA’s recent announcement it has allocated P500 million to provide a one-time P3,000 fuel subsidy for farmers and fishermen who have their machinery and boats registered. The latter should have boats not exceeding three metric tons in order to qualify.
Diesel prices increased by P0.95 per liter this week while gasoline rose by P0.40 per liter. Oil firms raised pump prices last week by P1.10 per liter for gasoline, P1.55 for diesel, and P1.40 for kerosene.
The Bicolano lawmaker appealed to the DA to give time for farmers and fishermen to register their equipment as the department finalizes its guidelines for the subsidy.
Lee also urged the DA to consider giving another round of fuel subsidy in the second half of the year if fuel prices continue to soar.
During the past budget deliberations in Congress, Lee persistently called on the House leadership to provide additional budget to update and streamline the effectivity of RSBSA and for the swift delivery of fuel subsidies to farmers and fishermen.