Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto on Tuesday, March 8 said he supports calls for President Duterte to call Congress to a special session and declare a State of Economic Emergency.
Recto, the resident economist at the 24-member Senate, said the special session would hopefully ‘’address rising prices, specially fuel and power and to provide assistance to those who need it".
Calls for the President to call both the Senate and House of Representatives to a special session followed the unabated increases in the prices of oil products caused by international factors, including the current Russian invasion of Ukraine.
One specific call is for the Congress to pass a measure suspending the collection of excise tax on oil imports.
For reelectionist Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, ‘The fundamental problem on why we are experiencing high prices of oil is because we import close to 100 percent of our oil requirements, making our country very susceptible to global price shocks.’’
‘’We no longer have a ‘shock absorbing mechanism’ like the OPSF (Oil Price Stabilization Fund) before. Instead, we have used targeted mechanisms such as the Pantawid Pasada for PUV (public utility vehicle) drivers which is much more economical,’’ he added.
Gatchalian then suggested the immediate implementation of the following:
1. Increasing the Pantawid Pasada (PP) amount given to PUV drivers by 50 percent,
2. Extending PP to food transporters,
3. Immediately release fuel subsidies to farmers and fishermen and to increase the amount by 50 percent as well, and the
4. Suspension of excise taxes on fuel as the last resort if fuel prices will remain elevated for the next few months.
Gatchalian said the Department of Energy (DOE) should already come up with mitigating measures in an event oil supply with be disrupted.
One such measure is the implementation of the Expanded Minimum Oil Inventory (EMOI), which would increase minimum oil inventory from 30 days to 45 days.