Vice presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio is willing to urge her father, President Duterte, to call for a special session in Congress in connection with the current fuel price crisis.
But she won't do so as a presidential daughter, she said.
"Opo (Yes I will urge), not as a daughter to a father, but as a Filipino citizen," the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) chairperson told reporters at a hotel in Quezon City Thursday afternoon, March 10.
The younger Duterte gave this statement amid projections that pump prices of gasoline would hit a whopping P100 per liter due to uncertainties in the world crude market. This instability was triggered by Russia's recent invasion of Ukraine.
Local fuel prices have actually been on an upward trend even before the start of the military conflict in Europe.
Since the start of 2021, successive price hikes in petroleum have resulted in an accumulated P30.90 per liter increase on gasoline, P31.75 per liter on diesel, and P25.94 per liter on kerosene.
Mayor Duterte said that UniTeam eyes two solutions to the fuel price woes. "Unang-una is yung suspension po ng excise tax, and pangalawa po (First is the suspension of the fuel excise tax, and second is the) studying of the oil price stabilization fund," she said.
The proposed suspension of excise taxes on fuel is precisely the reason why Congress needs to convene in a special session, since the suspension can only happen via legislation.
Both chambers of Congress (House of Representatives and Senate) are on recess due to the ongoing election campaign.
UniTeam is composed of Mayor Duterte and Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) presidential bet Bongbong Marcos.