PHILIPPINE STAR/ BOY SANTOS

THE GOVERNMENT should offer a wage subsidy and free public transport service rather than distributing a P200 monthly cash aid for a year to poor families to cushion the impact of rising oil prices, a party-list representative said on Thursday.  

BHW Rep. Angelica Natasha Co, who represents community health workers, recommended a P500 wage subsidy for private sector workers from May to July, and free EDSA carousel bus and train rides on Mondays and Fridays.  

Funding for these measures could be sourced from proceeds of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, which brought down personal income tax while raising excise taxes on tobacco, sweetened beverages, other non-essential goods, automobiles, and petroleum products. 

“The said mix of targeted solutions will be funded by the proceeds of TRAIN Law collections. That’s also the same source of the Pantawid Pasada,” she said in a separate Viber statement in response to a question from BusinessWorld.  

She said the government’s P200 cash aid plan is “pathetic and insulting.” — Jaspearl Emerald G. Tan 

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