A member of the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives wants Malacañang to certify as “urgent” the proposed measures that will help curb the impact of spiraling oil prices.
House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro suggested this as another oil price hike will take effect on Tuesday, Nov. 15.
Oil companies are set to implement an increase in pump prices of gasoline by P0.90 per liter this week. The prices of diesel will be reduced by P0.30 per liter.
“Malacañang and the legislative leadership should concentrate more on measures that would alleviate the suffering of ordinary Filipinos especially in lowering oil price so that other products will have decreasing prices as well,” Castro said in a statement.
The lawmaker identified these urgent bills as the “Lower oil prices bills package”, which are comprised of House Bill (HB) No. 400 or lower oil price bill, HB 3003 or the renationalize petron bill, HB 3004 or the unbundling oil prices bill, HB 3005 or the centralized procurement of petroleum bill, and HB No. 3006.
READ: Gasoline prices up by P0.90/liter; diesel cut by P0.30/liter
HB 400 “seeks to immediately lower the price of oil and other petroleum products by scrapping the excise tax on petroleum products imposed under the TRAIN Law, and by including petroleum products in the list of exemptions under the E-VAT Law.”
TRAIN refers to the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law, which imposed excise taxes on petroleum products.
HB 3003, or the “Petron Rationalization Act of 2022,” aims to address the problem of the monopoly of prices and supplies by transnational oil companies.
These bills were first filed by Bayan Muna in the previous Congress.
"As can be seen there are numerous House measures (are) just waiting to be prioritized by Malacañang and the House leadership,” Castro said.
If passed into laws, she stressed the proposed bills may lower oil prices causing “domino effect in lowering basic products and services and at least alleviate the suffering of consumers.”