People's Party questions legality of using special loan for welfare cards

The opposition People's Party has sought a ruling from the Administrative Court, through the Ombudsman, on the legality of the Cabinet's recent decision to use 18.8 billion baht from a 200 billion baht special loan to support the state welfare card scheme.

Deputy leader of the People's Party, Sirikanya Tansakul said the use of the special loan to support the scheme contravenes the objectives of the loan, which was secured from domestic sources under an Executive Decree that clearly stipulates the funds are intended to help people affected by rising oil prices and to support the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.

Sirikanya said the special loan cannot be used for purposes other than those explicitly stated in the Executive Decree or for any purpose the government chooses.

She added that she suspects the government is facing financial difficulties and therefore decided to use part of the loan to fund the state welfare card scheme.

As a taxpayer, she said she has been affected by the government's decision and would like the Administrative Court to determine whether the Cabinet's decision is lawful.

She insisted that this case differs from her earlier petition to the Constitutional Court seeking a ruling on whether the government had the authority to issue the Executive Decree under Article 172 of the Constitution, noting that the court has already accepted that case for consideration.

Regarding the latest complaint, Sirikanya said its purpose is to halt the use of the special loan to support the state welfare card scheme.

She also said that if the government is genuinely short of funds to assist welfare card holders, it could seek funding from the emergency reserve fund, which is estimated at about 50 billion baht.

The fact that the government may be running out of funds does not justify using the special loan for purposes beyond those specified in the Executive Decree, she said, warning that doing so would set a bad precedent for the future.