(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday signed into law a bill granting him the power to suspend or reduce excise tax on fuel products.
The president signed Republic Act (RA) 12316 as part of the government’s efforts to cushion the impact of rising oil prices triggered by the war in the Middle East.
Marcos, however, said he was still determining the right time to use the new authority “because there are conditions within the law that have to be satisfied.”
“What’s difficult here is the constant changes in the prices of oil,” Marcos said. “So, it’s hard to plan. That’s why we have been trying to find the optimum levels in terms of support, the suspension of some of the charges that the government exacts, especially from food products,” he added.
The measure authorizes the president to temporarily suspend fuel excise tax to help cushion the impact of global oil price hikes due to the war in the Middle East.
On March 3, Marcos bared plans to ask for a special power to reduce excise tax on petroleum products should prices exceed $80 per barrel. The price of Brent Crude was at $98 a barrel, down from a high of $119 since the US and Israel attacked Iran.
The president signed on Tuesday an executive order declaring a state of national energy emergency as a response to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East that could affect the availability and stability of the country’s energy supply.
In the same briefing on Wednesday, Marcos said the declaration would “provide government with more options should the need arise.” “Nothing is off the table. We are looking at everything, everything that we can do. And so whatever suggestion that has been brought to us, whatever idea that has, that we have come up with,” the president said.
“We are examining it very, very closely in great detail to see if it is going to be advantageous to our people,” he added.
