Malacañang has to make a decisive move now to ease the Filipino’s burden from increasing oil prices caused by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
One thing it could do is to heed the suggestion of Senators Franklin Drilon and Panfilo Lacson.
The two legislators have urged the National Government to suspend the collection of excise taxes on petroleum products. In a radio interview last Sunday, Drilon said if one is to “liberally” interpret the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) Law, only the signature of President Rodrigo Duterte is needed to suspend excise taxes on fuel during “extraordinary” times, and the ballooning oil prices amid the pandemic is indeed extraordinary as it hurts several sectors of society.
If the President does not want to do this, he can call the Congress to conduct a special session, Drilon said.
Lacson, for his part, has said suspending excise taxes can help all the sectors, not just the motorists, affected by the oil prices.
Since Russia started its war on Ukraine last Feb. 24, oil prices have surged by more than 30 percent, Reuters reported.
In the Philippines, Unioil has made a forecast that on Tuesday, March 15, prices will increase by as much as P12.20 to P12.30 per liter for diesel and P6.80 to P7 per liter for gasoline.
The current excise tax for gasoline is at P10 per liter, P6 per liter for diesel, and P5 per liter for kerosene. An excise tax is a tax on the purchase of a specific good or service, and some excise taxes are called “sin taxes” since they apply to goods and services that the government is trying to discourage such as alcohol and cigarettes and gambling.
The Train Law provides for the suspension of the excise hikes during the period from 2018 to 2020 when the oil price per barrel exceeds $80. The last increase in fuel excise tax was completed in 2020, but the price of oil has continued to rise since, and Drilon said last March 8 that there is no legal impediment that would prevent the Department of Finance and the Bureau of Internal Revenue from suspending the collection of fuel excise taxes.
Suspending fuel excise taxes is the best option right now as it is still uncertain when the Russian-Ukraine war would end.