CenPEG Urges Government Intervention to Protect Vulnerable Sectors Amid Rising Oil Prices

The Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) today called on the government to take decisive action to cushion the impact of rising oil prices, emphasizing that any state intervention must prioritize the country’s most vulnerable sectors.

In a statement, CenPEG said that while market forces play a role in determining fuel prices, the government cannot remain passive when price shocks threaten the livelihoods of millions of Filipinos.

“If government chooses not to simply allow market forces to operate unchecked and decides to intervene, two critical questions must be addressed,” said CenPEG Senior Fellow Hector A. Barrios. “First, in whose behalf will the government intervene? And second, how will such intervention be carried out?”

Barrios stressed that government action must be clearly directed toward protecting the most vulnerable sectors, rather than providing broad measures that could disproportionately benefit wealthier groups.

“The priority should be those who suffer most from rising fuel prices — public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers, farmers, fisherfolk, and the urban poor,” Barrios said. “These sectors face immediate livelihood disruptions whenever fuel costs surge.”

CenPEG recommended targeted subsidies and assistance programs to help these sectors cope with escalating transport and production costs. According to the policy center, such support mechanisms could include fuel subsidies for PUV drivers, assistance for small farmers and fisherfolk whose production costs rise with fuel prices, and targeted relief for low-income urban households.

At the same time, Barrios urged wealthier sectors of society to exercise restraint in consumption.

“In times of global energy uncertainty, the more affluent sectors should avoid unnecessary travel and excessive fuel consumption,” he said. “National solidarity requires that those who have more should adjust their consumption patterns so that public resources can be focused on those who have less.”

CenPEG warned that without timely and well-targeted government intervention, sustained oil price increases could worsen inflation, deepen poverty, and strain already fragile livelihoods across the country.

“Government intervention must not be neutral,” Barrios emphasized. “It must be clearly pro-people, focused on cushioning the poor and the working sectors who bear the brunt of every oil price shock.”

CenPEG reiterated that a people-centered response is essential to ensure that economic shocks do not further widen social inequality.

REFERENCE: Hector Barrios, CenPEG Senior Fellow, 09260617670.  For more information, please contact: Email: cenpeg.info@gmail.com | Phone: 09171141405 | Website: www.cenpeg.org