Emergency powers over fuel excise taxes could have been earlier – energy lawyer

The government could have worked much earlier on giving President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. the power to temporarily suspend or reduce fuel excise taxes amid the oil price surges, an energy lawyer said on Tuesday. 

“I think dapat matagal ng plinano ito. Dapat nagsimula na yung gobyerno dito sa... Gradually, dapat sinumulan na ito dati pa. Too late na ngayon pa lang iniisip gawin ito,” said Noel Baga, a professor of the University of the Philippines Diliman and co-convenor of the Center for Energy Research and Policy (CERP).

(I think this should have been planned a long time ago. The government should have started on this... It should have started gradually back then. It’s too late now that they’re only thinking of doing this today.) 

On Tuesday afternoon, Congress transmitted to the Office of the President the enrolled bill which would grant President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. emergency powers to suspend or reduce the excise taxes on petroleum products.

House Bill 8418 stated that the President’s suspension or reduction of excise taxes on petroleum products should be based on the recommendation of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) in coordination with the Department of Energy (DOE).

Even though he certified the measure as urgent, Marcos earlier said the emergency power will be implemented depending on the trends of oil prices.

For his part, Baga noted that oil prices will continue to surge, hence, the need for price control. 

“Kasi again, pataas ‘to nang pataas. Kaya ang kailangan nga po natin, price control eh. Kasi kahit tanggalin niya yung excise tax, Diba? Kung pataas na naman ang pataas ng presyo ng langis, kahit tanggalin mo yung excise tax, ganun pa rin,” he said in an interview over “Unang Hirit.” 

(Because again, the prices are going up. That’s why what we really need is price control. Because even if he removes the excise tax, right? If the price of oil keeps rising even if you remove the excise tax, it will still be the same.) 

“So, at kailangan po talaga natin ng oil price controls na ifi-freeze yung oil prices at some level. Kailangan kausapin na ng gobyerno ang oil companies, ang DEPDev, ano ba itong threshold na ito sa price control na gagawin natin,” Baga added.

(So, we really need oil price controls that will freeze oil prices at some level. The government needs to talk to the oil companies and the DEPDev about what this threshold for the price control we are implementing should be.) 

Baga said Marcos could implement price control measures through the Price Act or by asking the Congress to give him emergency powers to do so.

“Pwede hong mag-price controls ang Presidente under the Price Act at the National Disaster Risk Reduction Act. Kailangan lang ng Presidente na mag-declare ng national emergency. And declare oil as a prime commodity at mag-price controls,” he said. 

(The President can implement price controls under the Price Act and the National Disaster Risk Reduction Act. The President just needs to declare a national emergency, declare oil as a prime commodity, and implement price controls.) 

“Or, kung gusto pa niya, kung hindi pa rin para sa kanya, hindi pa enough ‘yun, ask Senate and the House of Representatives to give him emergency powers para mag-declare ng price control. Ang binigay lang po, is excise tax.” 

(Or, if he wants, if that still isn’t enough for him, he can ask the Senate and the House of Representatives to give him emergency powers to declare a price control. What was granted so far was only for the excise tax.) 

Diesel prices are seen to spike to as high as more than P130 per liter while gasoline may go up past P100 a liter for March 24 to 30 as the series of mega oil price hikes due to the Middle East conflict enters its third week, data from the DOE showed. — JMA, GMA Integrated News