Robredo, Liberal Party call for suspension of excise tax on fuel

Vice President Leni Robredo on Monday called for a temporary suspension of excise tax on fuel products under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law to help ease the effects of inflation.

“Sa simula pa lamang po ng taon, ramdam na ng ating mga mamamayan ang pagtaas ng presyo. Inamin din naman ng DOF (Department of Finance) na hindi nila inasahan ang ganito kalaking pagtaas ng inflation,” Robredo said in a press briefing with Liberal Party lawmakers. 

“Mula sa kanilang pahayag, malinaw na panahon na para tingnan muli kung nararapat pa ba ang buwis sa krudo,” she added.

Senator Bam Aquino noted at the same briefing that prices of goods cannot go down unless fuel prices decrease—something he believes cannot happen without comparable changes in economic policy.

“How do we expect na bababa ‘yung inflation sa January kung magtataas naman tayo ng presyo ng diesel, gasoline, at kerosene? Aminado ‘yung mga economic managers na hindi nila inaasahan ‘yung ganong kalaking pagtaas,” he said.

“Iba ‘yung sitwasyon ngayon kumpara nung (ginawa) nila yung TRAIN 1,” Aquino noted. “Ano ‘yung response natin sa sitwasyon natin ngayon? Kasi kung pinagpipilitan pa rin na tama ‘yung mga naigawa nung December 2017, hindi na ito responsive sa mga nangyayari ngayon, especially sa mahihirap nating kababayan.”

To mitigate the effects of tax reform on Filipinos, the LP pushed for the passage of Aquino’s Bawas Presyo or Senate Bill 1798.

Under the bill, an automatic suspension of the excise tax on fuel will be imposed “when the average inflation rate for a three month period exceeds the annual inflation target range that was set by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), provided that the excise tax on fuel prior to the effectivity of the TRAIN law remain in force during the period of suspension.”

 

LP officials are calling for a delay on the increase in excise tax on petroleum while lawmakers from all sides find a solution to the inflation rates that exceeded the expectations of economic managers. pic.twitter.com/NCACokPg7o

— Rie Takumi (@rie_takumi) September 3, 2018

LP Representatives Miro Quimbo (Marikina 2nd District) and Jose Christopher Belmonte (Quezon City 6th District) will file the House version on Monday afternoon.

Quimbo said there must also be a moratorium on increasing excise taxes as inflation continues to “rise above targets.”

There must also be unity, Aquino noted, between all lawmakers regardless of political affiliations to create a solution to inflation.

Robredo called for a review of the conditional cash transfer program and social protection initiatives.

“Kailangan din nating tingnan kung sapat pa ba ang P200 na unconditional cash transfer, at kung kailangan itaas pa ito,” she said.

“Paramihin po ang saklaw ng Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, at ayusin din ang mga institusyong tulad ng GSIS, SSS, OWWA, at Philippine Crop Insurance Corp., na kasama dapat sa makakapitan ng mga nasa laylayan sa panahon ng pangangailangan.”

The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) is the pension fund of for government employees, and the Social Security System (SSS) is for private sector employees, while the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) is an agency of the Labor department focused on protecting the interests of overseas Filipino workers. —VDS, GMA News