#TheBigStory | Sen. Loren Legarda expressed frustration over the absence of Energy Secretary Sharon Garin at a Senate hearing tackling the impact of the Middle East conflict.
She questioned the official’s priorities, stressing the urgency of government response amid the energy crisis.
Tensions flared when Legarda rebuked the Department of Energy (DOE) for seemingly blaming the chamber’s legislative break for the delayed approval of a multi-billion-peso funding request for the Philippine National Oil Company.
She also accused the energy chief of “politicking” in the middle of a national economic crisis.
Legarda pointed out that the official was present at the Senate the previous week to lobby for biofuels, yet was missing during a critical hearing specifically convened to address the oil crisis.
“I can’t think of anything more important than this hearing convened by the chair. And if the other Cabinet members (are) here, why could the most important department not be present?” she asked.
Garin showed up at the Senate panel later in the hearing.
Legarda’s remarks come against the backdrop of an ongoing political and legal feud between the two officials and the senator’s son, Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste.
Recently, Garin accused Leviste of violating the 1987 Constitution by failing to divest his ownership of the firm Solar Philippines before taking office.
Legarda
urged government agencies to abandon “painfully slow” bureaucratic
processes and implement rapid, practical solutions to provide immediate
relief to Filipinos.
“We must first admit that there is a crisis
for us, for all of us to act with urgency. And we must admit that it
can’t be the usual way things are,” Legarda said.
“If we do not admit that there’s a crisis in the Middle East affecting our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) and their families, affecting the prices of our petroleum products, energy, food prices, transport and displacing millions of Filipinos, the agencies will not act with urgency,” Legarda stressed.
Legarda
reiterated her push to suspend the 12-percent value-added tax (VAT) on
basic commodities while adjusting the taxes imposed on “sin” and luxury
goods. – With Neil Jayson Servallos
