By Ben Rosario
Consumers should brace for price shocks as the government implements the third tranche of the hike in excise tax on oil as provided under the much-criticized Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion or TRAIN law.
House of the Representatives (Manila Bulletin File Photo)
House Deputy Minority Leader Carlos Isagani Zarate and Rep. Ferdinand Gaite, both Bayan Muna representatives, aired the warning following the Department of Energy’s announcement of the impending implementation of the TRAIN law provision that had previously blamed for the surge in inflation rate last year.
Zarate and Gaite dismissed DOE’s warning against oil companies not to increase prices until their old stocks have been fully depleted, saying that honesty has never been one of the traits of oil firms.
"Even if the Department of Energy (DOE) is telling oil companies to first deplete their old stocks before imposing the added excise tax on oil products, without the unbundling of the prices of oil products we cannot tell for certain if the oil companies are already passing on the new excise taxes," explained Zarate.
Zarate called for the repeal of the TRAIN law which could trigger consumer price hikes soon.
"Aside from unbundling oil prices for consumers to see the true prices of oil, we maintain that it is still best to repeal the TRAIN law so as to protect consumers from the upcoming price shocks like in 2018 when it was first implemented," said the Davao-based solon.
Under the law, diesel will rise by P1.50 per liter. Gasoline, kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas, and lubricating oils will go up by P1.
Bunker fuel and petroleum coke will likewise increase by P1.50.
For his part, Gaite noted that "since the record high surge in prices in basic goods in 2018; prices have not gone down and it has nowhere to go but up because of the last tranche of TRAIN Law 1.”
"The supposed lower inflation in 2019 being peddled by economic managers would be wiped out with the new price increases as well as higher demand for oil in the international market," he added.
Gaite chided the Duterte administration for feigning concern for the Filipino consumers, saying that it has ignored the simplest way of protecting them which is to repeal the TRAIN law.
"Again if the administration wants to shield consumers from the upcoming price onslaught then it should immediately repeal the TRAIN law," said Gaite
The third and final tranche of excise tax hike on fuel products will take effect on January 1, 2020, according to Finance Secretary Tony Lambino.
The government implemented TRAIN after it was passed in 2017.
The law imposed a P2.50 per liter excise tax on diesel from zero, and hiked the levy on gasoline to P7 per liter starting Jan. 1, 2018.
Excise taxes went further up by another P2 per liter since Jan. 1, 2019.