Constant oil price hikes enough reason to suspend fuel excise tax - Win Gatchalian

The continuous increase in oil prices should be sufficient reason to temporarily suspend the excise tax on gasoline and diesel, Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said Sunday.

“Dapat suspendihin na 'yan dahil ang gumagamit din ng diesel, gasolina ay logistics company, at ‘yan ay ipinapasa sa pagkain. Noon pa man, ang mungkahi natin ay i-suspend na rin ang gasolina, para makatulong sa pagbaba ng presyo ng mga bilihin at hindi na maipasa pa sa iba pang pangunahing bilihin,” Gatchalian told Super Radyo dzBB.

(The [excise tax] should already be suspended because diesel and gasoline are also used by logistics companies, and the cost is passed on to food prices. Even before, we had already proposed suspending the excise tax on gasoline to help bring down the prices of goods and prevent the cost from being passed on to other basic commodities.)

“Dapat i-reconsider nila (economic managers) ‘yang pag suspinde rin sa excise tax sa gasolina at diesel. Dapat i-reconsider ng economic managers nation kanit temporary lang dahil umabot na ulit sa more than $80 barrel at tuloy-tuloy. Mayroon nang dahilan para suspendinin,” he added.

(The economic managers should reconsider suspending the excise tax on gasoline and diesel, even if only temporarily, because oil prices have risen above $80 a barrel again and continue to climb. There is now sufficient reason to suspend it.)

In September, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the suspension of the collection of excise tax on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and kerosene.

Marcos issued Executive Order No. 125 amid soaring global crude oil prices, which drove local petroleum prices to high levels.

According to Executive Order No. 125, "The excise taxes on LPG, except when used as raw material for production of petrochemical products or used for motive power, and kerosene, except when used as aviation fuel, are hereby fully suspended."

Marcos signed Republic Act 12316 into law in March, giving him emergency powers to suspend or reduce the excise tax rate on fuel.

Under the measure, the suspension or reduction may be implemented for up to three months if the average price of Dubai crude oil —based on the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS)—reaches or exceeds $80 per barrel for one month. Brent crude prices have hovered around $102 per barrel.

In a separate dzBB interview, Department of Energy Oil Industry Management Bureau Director Rino Abad said the following estimated fuel price adjustments are expected next week:

• Gasoline - P1.50 per liter increase
• Kerosene - P2 per liter increase
• Diesel - P1 per liter decrease

Follow facebook.com/gmanewsonline for real-time news and developments in the Philippines and around the world.
—RF, GMA News