Magsasaka party-list Rep. Argel Joseph Cabatbat on Tuesday said that the “pittance” rollback in the price of diesel implemented today by oil companies cannot arrest the agricultural crisis in the country.
Cabatbat said the P0.35 per liter rollback in the price of diesel and P0.30 per liter for kerosene is not enough to ease the burden on consumers, including the Filipino farmers and fishermen.
“Barya lang yan kung tutuusin, At the end of the day, talo pa rin ang consumers,” Cabatbat said.
He said the rollback this week is a pittance compared to the series of hikes the country has seen this year.
Based on data gathered by Cabatbat, since January prices of gasoline have gone up by P21.95 per liter, diesel by P18.10 per liter, and kerosene by P15.74 per liter.
Cabatbat explained that oil prices have an indirect effect on the prices of farm inputs. He said 14% of the expenses in producing palay go to animal, machine, fuel and oil.
“That figure has definitely ballooned many times over, with farmers suffering tremendous losses. Breaking even has become virtually impossible,” he added.
He called on the government to take decisive action to help the Filipinos like giving more subsidies to drivers and speeding up the release of financial aid for farmers and fishermen.
Cabatbat also underscored the need to inject more funds to the agriculture sector and review the Rice Tariffication Law and Executive Orders that allow the importation of agricultural products.
The post ‘Barya lang ‘yan’: Diesel price rollback not enough to arrest agricultural crisis – Magsasaka party-list first appeared on .Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)
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