House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto lll should recommend to Malacañang the conduct of special sessions in Congress to approve bills that would suspend excise taxes on fuel, the prices of which have been skyrocketing as of late.

Anakalusugan Party-list Rep. Mike Defensor underscored Thursday, Feb. 24 that only the Chief Executive---in this case, President Duterte--who has the power to convene Congress to a special session any time during its adjournment.

“President Duterte may be waiting for what our leaders in Congress have to say on the proposed special session to reduce oil taxes and fuel prices. After all, it was the legislature that imposed and even increased these levies,” Defensor said.

Both chambers of Congress are on break due to the ongoing campaign season. They are not scheduled to convene again until after the May 9 elections.

According to Defensor, shelving tjr fuel levies would bring down local pump prices by P6 per liter for diesel, P10 per liter for gasoline, P5 per liter for kerosene, and P33 per 11-kilogram cylinder for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or cooking gas.

“We don’t have control over the worsening situation in Russia-Ukraine, but we certainly have control over the taxes we have imposed on our people,” the Quezon City mayoralty candidate said, noting one of the main causes of the surge in crude prices in the world market.

His fellow congressmen House Deputy Speaker Mikee Romero of 1-Pacman Party-list and Senior Deputy Minority Leader Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna Party-list have earlier called for the conduct of special sessions to give relief to Filipino consumers by way of legislation.

“I support the proposal of my colleagues. We have to act fast to provide relief to our people in the wake of soaring gas prices, which have now increased by more than P20 per liter due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) pandemic and the heightening tensions between Russia and Ukraine and its western allies,” Defensor said.

The excise tax on fuel may be suspended by tweaking a provision in the Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law of 2018.

Defensor himself had filed House Bill (HB) No. 10411, which calls for the suspension of the increase in oil levies under the TRAIN Law up to Dec. 31, 2024.

He said he would push for the approval of his bill, “but I am open to supporting another measure that would substantially cut oil taxes and the pump prices of petroleum products".