Marcos to send formal request to Congress for oil excise tax reduction

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. will send a formal request to the Congress, as he seeks emergency powers to reduce excise tax on oil products amid the continuing conflict in the Middle East.

This was according to an Unang Balita report by GMA Integrated News' Joseph Morong  on Monday. 

Malacañang earlier said Marcos intends to certify as urgent new proposed measures that will give him the authority to reduce the excise tax on oil products once the price of Dubai crude exceeds $80 per barrel. 

In response, Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III said that they have been coordinating with the office of Executive Secretary Ralph Recto regarding the matter. 

“Since this weekend, we are in constant coordination with the office of the Executive Secretary regarding the bills needed to suspend the implementation of excise tax on fuel and the bill allowing the importation of biofuel to address the effects of the surge in fuel prices. I’ll address it today,” Sotto said in a message to reporters. 

Earlier, House ways and means panel chair and Marikina City 2nd District Representative Miro Quimbo filed a bill seeking to allow the President to suspend or reduce the excise tax on petroleum products during national or global economic emergencies.

House Bill 8257 seeks to amend Section 148 of the 1997 National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) and allow the President, as recommended by the Finance Secretary, to suspend the imposition of fuel excise taxes under the following conditions:

The average Dubai crude oil price has reached or exceeded $80 per barrel for a continuous period of at least three months immediately preceding the issuance of the suspension order; or

A state of national emergency or calamity has been declared by the President, and such condition has resulted in extraordinary increases in domestic pump prices of petroleum products as certified by the Energy Secretary. —Anna Felicia Bajo and Giselle Ombay/AOL, GMA Integrated News