MANILA, Philippines - The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on Thursday admitted that the government currently has no clear-cut long-term solutions to the food and fuel crises plaguing the country.

A report over radio dzXL quoted NEDA deputy director-general Augusto Santos as telling the Senate committee on economic affairs that the country only has short-term answers in the form of subsidies.


Santos said lasting solutions to the crisis are lacking because these are not included in the programs Malacañang wants to implement, said the report.

He promised the committee headed by Sen. Loren Legarda, however, that the NEDA will further study long-term solutions to the global food and fuel crises that have also affected the country.

The government has been widely criticized for its subsidy programs sourced from the windfall profits from the expanded value-added tax (e-VAT), with Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel saying on Wednesday that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo cannot channel the e-VAT funds to her subsidy programs without first securing Congress authorization.

“The President is using the money derived from VAT for the purpose of her doleout scheme. Giving subsidy to the poor is not really a bad idea. But that should be sanctioned by law, If there is no enabling law, that is wrong,” Pimentel said in a statement.

A GMA News Research report said the government has allotted billions of pesos to several social welfare programs, including the following:

o Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, where 300,000 poor families will be given a maximum of P1,400 monthly for health and education expenses for five years.

o FIELDS program, also known as Fertilizer, Irrigation and Infrastructure, Extension and Education, Loans, Dryers and other post-harvest and post-production facilities, and Seeds and other genetic materials food production program, which has a P43.7 billion package aimed to help the agricultural sector.

o Katas ng VAT: Pantawid Pag-aaral, also called the Students Assistance Fund for Education (SAFE) which has allotted a P1 billion fund for college scholarships and interest-free loans for some 70,000 poor students nationwide.

o Katas ng VAT: Pantawid Kuryente, a one-time cash subsidy for consumers with an electric consumption of 100 kilowatts or less.

o Katas ng VAT: Microfinance loans for PUV drivers’ families, which provides a P500 million soft loan for livelihood projects or microfinance of wives and immediately family members of PUV drivers.

o Katas ng VAT: Funds for fluorescent lights, which provides P500 million to finance public establishments’ shift to using fluorescent lights from incandescent lights.
National Food Authority rice subsidy, wherein the government subsidizes almost 50 percent of the P18.25/kilogram rice that was originally priced P34/kilogram.

On Tuesday, newly-appointed NEDA director-general Ralph Recto vowed that revenues collected by the government will be spent on vulnerable sectors of society, saying he wants “effective spending” and “transparency in the affairs of NEDA.”

Recto, who authored the VAT law during his term in the Senate, also said he will be studying proposed alternatives to the VAT. - Johanna Camille Sisante, GMANews.TV