MANILA – Senator Imee Marcos proposed a temporary suspension of salary deductions from state-run agencies to help Filipinos cope with rising fuel and commodity prices amid oil price hikes.
Marcos called on the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance System, Pag-IBIG Fund, and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to implement a temporary halt in collections and a loan moratorium to ease the financial burden on workers and other sectors.
“The crisis in gasoline and crude oil adds to the daily burden of every Filipino, especially our workers. It is only right that we give them at least a month or more of relief in paying their obligations,” Marcos said in a news release.
Since the Middle East conflict broke out Feb. 28, oil prices have continuously surged.
She urged agencies to suspend salary deductions and allow employees to receive their full wages during the period.
“Let us suspend salary deductions for now and release their wages in full, so they may somehow keep pace with the galloping rise in the cost of living,” she added.
Marcos said workers, farmers, fisherfolk, and small business owners are among the hardest hit by rising oil prices, which have driven up transportation costs and the prices of basic goods.
She noted that similar relief measures were implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic and past calamities, helping ease financial pressures on households.
“This is an evolving crisis, which appears to be dragging on longer than anticipated. Let us do everything we can to lighten the burden on our people,” she said. (PNA)