Bangkok: “Pharadon” explains the use of 170 billion baht in the Thai Help Thai Plus project. Paradorn responded to urgent questions, affirming the necessity of borrowing 400 billion baht. He explained that 170 billion baht will be allocated for relief within four months because it was time to lend a hand to the people. He refuted the accusation of issuing a blank check, calling it too severe.
According to Thai News Agency, during the House of Representatives meeting, Mr. Paradorn Prisnanantakul, Minister attached to the Prime Minister’s Office, addressed a live interpellation by Ms. Sirikanya Tansakul, a list MP from the People’s Party, regarding the urgent need to issue an emergency decree for borrowing 400 billion baht. He explained that the situation in the Middle East has had several ripple effects on the global economy, including an energy crisis, rising commodity prices, and a burden on consumers who have to buy more goods. Therefore, it was necessary to issue the emergency decree for borrowing 400 billion baht because the 2026 budget, specifically the emergency reserve fund, only had 20 billion baht remaining, insufficient to fully address the situation. Initially, the government expected to be able to transfer 80-90 billion baht from unused funds in various projects, but after a survey by the Budget Bureau, only 20-30 billion baht remained, which was insufficient. Thus, the emergency decre
e for borrowing was necessary.
Regarding the question of why the government went all-in on the “Thai Helps Thai” project, specifically the “Half-Price Plus” scheme and the state welfare card, with a budget of 170 billion baht, it’s because the government, in collaboration with the Bank of Thailand, the National Economic and Social Development Council, the Ministry of Finance, and the Budget Bureau, assessed the situation and anticipated that the conflict would likely end by the end of the year. Therefore, the government needed to assist the public during these four months, as this was the period when people were suffering the most.
Mr. Paradorn also stated that even with the borrowing of 400 billion baht, divided into 200 billion baht this year and 200 billion baht next year, the public debt ceiling of 70% will definitely not be exceeded within 3-4 years. Whether it is considered an urgent matter depends on the perspective and vision of those who come to govern the country and how they view the future energy crisis. Currently, citizens are paying high electricity bills. The government is trying to transition from reliance on fossil fuels to clean energy within a limited timeframe, but due to the rush in preparing the 2027 budget, it has not been possible to include these projects in the annual budget in time.
Regarding the accusation of “writing a blank check,” I view it as an overly severe accusation. I would like to ask, if we don’t provide relief to the people during the next four months, when will we? I believe that the 170 billion baht spent over the next four months will definitely reach the people in full. As for the borrowing plan, it is domestic borrowing with an interest rate of only 1.3%, which is considered very low. Debt repayment will be done as usual, which is by allocating 4% of the next year’s budget, a method used by all previous governments. I reiterate that this borrowing is in accordance with Article 172 of the Constitution, and is justified and urgently necessary.