Lacson welcomes P500 monthly ayuda; insists on excise tax suspension

Presidential candidate and Senator Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday welcomed the increase in monthly "ayuda" for the poorest of the poor from P200 to P500, but he maintained his call for the government to temporarily suspend the excise taxes on oil products amid the skyrocketing fuel prices.

“Definitely, ‘yung P500 is better than P200. Ang tingin namin sa P200, pathetically too small, too little. Hindi talaga makakasapat ‘yon kung hangad mo makatulong as ayuda. That P200 monthly is only what P2400 a year. So mabuti dinagdagan ni Pangulo, ginawang P500,” Lacson said in an interview in Nueva Ecija.

(Definitely, the P500 financial aid is better than P200. We see the P200 ayuda as pathetically too small or too little. That would not suffice if you wanted to help the people because P200 a month is only what, P2,400 a year. So it is good that the President increased it to P500.)

During a ceremonial signing of three measures in Malacañang Monday, Duterte ordered Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez to look for funding so that the cash aid could be increased to P500 a month.

The President’s order came following the widespread criticisms received by the government’s allocation of P200 a month in cash aid for the poorest families identified by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

But Lacson insisted the need to suspend the excise taxes on fuel for at least three months to cushion the oil price hikes’ impact to the consumers.

“Nandu'n pa rin ‘yung [position on the] suspension, maski temporary lang. Kasi ang nanghihinayang sila, ang kwenta nila nasa mga P130 plus billion ang mawawala kung sa isang taon siguro ‘yon pero kung halimbawa, habang may gulo sa Ukraine, temporarily i-suspend natin ang excise tax, malaking bagay ‘yon,” Lacson said.

(Our position is still the same on the suspension, at least suspend it temporarily. They are worried about the P130 billion plus lost revenues if they will suspend the excise taxes but that will be the amount if you will suspend it for a year. But if we will suspend it until the war in Ukraine is over, that would be a big help.)

“Maski lamang tatlong buwan masuspend ang excise tax nang sa ganon medyo ma-cushion nang kaunti ang kahirapan. Di naman permanente ang hinihingi natin,” he added.

(The excise taxes could be suspended for at least three months so the government could cushion the impact to the consumers. What we are asking is not a permanent suspension of the excise taxes.)

Last week, Duterte approved the Department of Finance’s proposed P200 a month ayuda per household for one year which will be distributed to the bottom 50% of the Filipino families.

The proposal was raised in lieu of their refusal to suspend excise taxes on oil products.

Earlier, the lawmaker called on the DOF to revive the transitory provision in the TRAIN Law which suspends the scheduled increase in the excise tax when the three-month average of Dubai crude oil reaches $80 per barrel.

This provision, however, had lapsed following the effectivity of the last tranche of the excise tax increase in 2020.

If this provision under the TRAIN Law is revived, Lacson said the transport industry can save a maximum of P10 while ordinary drivers could save at least P5 to P6.—AOL, GMA News