Roll out e-ayuda

There’s a proposal worth pursuing by the government amid spiraling fuel prices. President Marcos himself mentioned it: the use of digital payment platforms to distribute fuel subsidies to drivers and small-scale operators of public utility vehicles.

In fact it could be a good idea to use e-wallets and ATMs in distributing all forms of state-funded cash aid. It will be more efficient and convenient for the beneficiaries, sparing them from waiting in line for hours in poorly ventilated distribution centers. And it will guarantee the absence from ayuda distribution activities of epal or credit-grabbing politicians who use government aid programs for self-promotion.

ATMs are used for the conditional cash transfer program meant for the poorest households. So far, there have been no complaints from those covered by the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps.

Members of the previous 19th Congress, apparently unhappy with their exclusion from the distribution of the conditional cash transfer, slashed P50 billion in 4Ps funding from the 2025 national budget. They then padded allocations for unconditional and discretionary aid programs wherein they play a role, such as the AKAP or Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program and the so-called health pork barrel, the Medical Assistance for Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients.

MAIFIP has been retained in the 2026 budget, despite opposition from 72 medical and healthcare organizations, but AKAP has been scrapped.

The fuel subsidy is taken not from the contingency fund of the Office of the President, as suggested by certain lawmakers, but from another unconditional aid program, the Assistance for Individuals in Crisis Situations or AICS.

Two Metro Manila mayors were present at the rollout of the fuel subsidy by the President, belying the repeated claims of the Department of Social Welfare and Development that politicians have no role in its ayuda distribution programs, and despite an anti-epal provision in the 2026 GAA on AICS and other state-funded aid.

That incident at the fuel subsidy rollout provides another reason for the government to pursue the use of digital payment platforms, not only for subsidies during the “state of national energy emergency” that the President has declared, but also for the distribution of other state-funded aid once the Middle East crisis is over.

Not all qualified beneficiaries have e-wallets or ATM accounts, and even those with such platforms may still prefer to receive cash aid in person. This option must still be retained. But making the digital option widely available can significantly reduce the lines at aid distribution venues.

The President has often expressed his intention to fully shift to e-governance, to promote efficiency, reduce red tape and opportunities for corruption. Aid distribution must be included in this shift.