AFTER nearly two months of marathon hearings on the country’s worsening fuel and energy crisis, the House of Representatives on Tuesday entered final deliberations on the proposed KALINGA bill — a sweeping measure designed to protect Filipino families and key industries from rising oil prices, fuel supply shocks, and soaring energy costs.
At the meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on Legislative Energy Action and Development (LEAD), Marikina City Rep. Miro Quimbo said lawmakers were consolidating into a substitute bill the findings and recommendations gathered from extensive consultations with economic managers, transport groups, agriculture stakeholders, labor representatives, and business sectors.
Quimbo said the KALINGA bill, filed by Speaker Faustino “Bojie” G. Dy III and House Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” A. Marcos, “serves as the strong foundation for consolidating the outcome of the deliberations into a substitute bill.”
The proposed KALINGA measure, or “Komprehensibong Alalay sa Livelihood, Inflation, Negosyo at Goods Assistance,” seeks to institutionalize a national crisis-response framework that would automatically activate government interventions during extraordinary fuel price increases, supply disruptions, inflation spikes, and energy emergencies.
Quimbo said the House moved quickly after tensions in the Middle East triggered fears of another global oil shock.
“For the past two months, the House of Representatives has conducted a series of briefings and marathon hearings on the continuing energy crisis. This began only days after the conflict in the Middle East erupted on February 28 as it became clear that developments abroad could very quickly become a burden here at home,” said Quimbo.
The hearings were initially conducted by the LEAD Joint Committee, a 13-panel House body that continued holding lengthy hearings and consultations even during the congressional break before it was later formally constituted as the Ad Hoc Committee on LEAD.
Under the leadership of Speaker Dy, Quimbo said the House worked closely with the Executive branch and stakeholders to assess how rising fuel prices were affecting the broader economy and ordinary Filipino families.
The lawmaker pointed out that the House obtained feedback from “the different sectors affected by this crisis—from our economic managers to our transport representatives; from agriculture and fisheries stakeholders to labor and business groups.”
“Sa dulo ng mga back-to-back sessions na ito, isa ang tinunton ng ating mga pinag-usapan: ito’y isang krisis na nagsimula sa petrolyo ngunit mabilis na gumapang sa buong ekonomiya, hanggang sa maramdaman ng bawat tahanang Pilipino,” he said.
He noted that rising fuel prices affect transportation, food production, electricity, logistics, and the operating costs of small businesses.
“Fuel is not just one commodity. It is an input into almost everything that keeps daily life moving,” Quimbo stressed.
The measure combines targeted assistance for vulnerable sectors with long-term reforms aimed at reducing the country’s dependence on imported fuel through conservation programs, fuel efficiency initiatives, renewable energy adoption, and supply stabilization measures.
“The proposals before us are meant to provide more than immediate relief, but to begin the long-term systemic changes to reduce our fuel dependency,” Quimbo said.
“This is the spirit of the Kalinga Program: relief now, resilience for the future,” he added.
As lawmakers prepared the measure for approval, Quimbo stressed the need for swift government action before rising fuel costs push more Filipino families deeper into hardship.
“The people demand us to act — swiftly, decisively, and wisely. And we must do so before another Filipino family is pushed deeper into hardship by this crisis.”
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