MANILA, Philippines — Before going on a break for the Holy Week, the Senate adopted a resolution creating an ad hoc committee that would check on the progress of the government’s contingency plans for addressing the effects of the Middle East crisis.
At Wednesday's session, the chamber adopted Senate Resolution No. 350, creating the ad hoc committee Protect, which stands for “Proactive Response and Oversight for Timely and Effective Crisis Strategy.”
The task of Protect, according to SR 350, is “to study, review, assess, examine, investigate, or otherwise inquire into the development of the implementation of contingency plans of the government seeking to address the socioeconomic crisis resulting from the ongoing conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran.”
While there are several Senate committees capable of doing such kind of inquiry, “the complexity and cross-sectoral impact of the crisis necessitate a coordinated mechanism within the Senate to consolidate information, harmonize findings, and ensure that policy responses are comprehensive, coherent, and mutually reinforcing.”
The ad hoc committee will furnish the President a copy of its report after its hearings.
“The ad hoc committee shall proactively address the issues and challenges that the country is facing as a result of and in relation to the ongoing conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran that has differentially impacted the oil-producing countries in the Middle East, with the end view of establishing a national consensus for a clear, coordinated, and comprehensive contingency plan to address the socioeconomic crisis and prevent stagflation of the economy,” the resolution read.
Senate finance committee chairman Sherwin Gatchalian is tasked to chair the ad hoc committee.
“Until now, nobody can tell when the conflict will end. In fact, America sent Marines. That’s not a good sign. And then, the Strait of Hormuz until now, is closed. So, with that, there are many uncertainty and we need to prepare,” Gatchalian said.
The Senate created the ad hoc committee because the Joint Congressional Commission on Energy, supposedly the body tasked to conduct such inquiry, has not convened at the House of Representatives.
The Senate adjourned session for the Holy Week without approving a certified measure allowing the importation of biofuel components and amending the locally sourced biofuel law.
Gatchalian told reporters the Senate needs to do more plenary debates on the measure contained in Senate Bill 1965.
The Senate this week waived the three-day period between second and third reading when it approved the fuel excise tax measure due to its certified urgent status.
But this did not happen for the biofuel law amendment, which remains on second reading in the Senate.
A House version was passed on third and final reading allowing the suspension of the mandatory biofuel blending requirement under the biofuels law.
Gatchalian said the Senate needs to study if importing biofuel components would help bring down the prices of diesel or gasoline.
He said there is still no clear study on how it would curb rising oil prices, unlike the approved measure on reducing or suspending the P6 excise tax per liter on diesel and P10 excise tax on gasoline.
Speaker Faustino Dy III, meanwhile, announced what he called strong legislative output of the House of Representatives, saying 17 of 52 priority measures identified by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council have been passed amid mounting economic and global challenges. – Jose Rodel Clapano, Gilbert Bayoran