(UPDATE) SEVERAL Cabinet officials and stakeholders have been invited to a joint hearing at the House of Representatives on Wednesday to discuss mitigating measures against the effects of the war in the Middle East.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman and Marikina Rep. Romero Quimbo will lead the hearing, the first from an expanded panel tasked to craft a unified legislative response to the crisis.
Besides Ways and Means, other committees involved are Energy; Agriculture and Food; Appropriations; Aquaculture and Fisheries Resources; Economic Affairs; Foreign Affairs; Information and Communications Technology; Labor and Employment; Overseas Workers Affairs; Social Services; Trade and Industry; and Transportation.
Speaker Faustino Dy III earlier directed the committees to “consolidate data, coordinate with the executive, and produce concrete policy interventions addressing both immediate relief and long-term resilience.” Expected to be discussed in the hearing is the country’s oil and energy supply situation amid tensions involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, as well as the broader economic impact, government response, and proposed courses of action.
Expected to attend are Energy Secretary Sharon Garin, Finance Secretary Frederick Go, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro, and Budget Secretary Rolando Toledo.
Also invited by the panel are Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Francis Saturnino Juan, National Electrification Administration Administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda, Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) representative Ma. Cristina Sheila Cabaraban, and PNOC Exploration Corp. official Adrian Ferdinand Sugay.
Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza, Bureau of Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno, and National Treasurer Sharon Almanza were also invited.
Officials from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and National Tax Research Center are also set to attend, alongside representatives from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
Quimbo had earlier said that the joint hearings aim to gather critical data and align the House’s legislative response with the executive’s ongoing efforts, leading to measures that can be rolled out quickly to protect vulnerable sectors.
He added that the body is expected to explore targeted assistance, fiscal support, and structural reforms to reduce the country’s exposure to global oil shocks.
