Sunday, May 29, 2011
Pantawid Pasada Program
On April 1 2001, Executive Order No. 32 - Instituting the Public Transport Assistance Program (Pantawid Pasada) - was signed by the President to cushion the impact of soaring oil prices to identified vulnerable groups within the public transport sector.
A total amount of PhP 450 M is allocated for the program and sourced from the Special Account in the General Fund (SAGF) of the DOE.
Pantawid Pasada cards loaded with PhP 1,050 will be distributed to members of these vulnerable groups which they could use for the sole purpose of purchasing diesel and gasoline from participating gas stations in the country.
If you want to know more about the program read the brochure below.
Pantawid Pasada Program
Do you think this is the most cost-effective way to protect the public transport sector from rising oil prices?
Since this is a dole-out why not just give cash instead and save on the cost of producing those cards? A card would be useful if you'd be dispensing the amount in tranches, but Php 1,050 is just too small an amount that could easily be exhausted in a week's time. According to the government, having the cards would be useful in the event that the same form of assistance will be given in the future - the cards only need to be reloaded and it is assumed that the beneficiaries would be spared from undergoing the same application process. But I still argue that having the cards only brings minimum benefit in terms of user convenience, which is further reduced by the uncertainty of even having future reloads. Such benefit pales in comparison with the (assumed higher) cost of producing those cards, and giving cash instead would address some other basic needs of these groups such as food or medicine.
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