Former senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito on Friday renewed his call for the government to suspend the excise tax on fuel to mitigate the ongoing global crisis on petroleum products brought about by the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

Ejercito said it’s imperative for the government to come up with “mitigating measures” amid the ongoing global fuel crisis.

“We have to think of mitigating measures para naman medyo maabsorb itong (so they can absorb the) shock brought about by this fuel crisis dahil sa conflict sa (due to the) Ukraine and Russia,” Ejercito said in a radio interview.

Ejercito said suspending the excise taxes on fuel would lower the price of fuel and oil-dependent products and services.

“Ang pwedeng gawin ng gobyerno ay isuspend muna ang excise tax pansamantala paraa bumababa ng ang presyo o makabawas (What the government can do as of the moment is to suspend the excise tax so it can lower the price),” he said.

Ejercito, who is seeking a Senate comeback in the upcoming May 2022 polls, noted that the price of fuel has been rising rapidly across the country as a result of global oil price hikes triggered war in Ukraine.

Earlier this month, President Duterte has approved several recommendations submitted by his economic team on measures that seek to cushion the impact of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian conflict on the Philippine economy, especially on oil and food security.

The recommendations include the distribution of monthly unconditional cash transfers to the bottom 50 percent of all Filipino households.

To this, Ejercito said the government should consider using the National ID System to make the distribution of cash aid more efficient.

“Gamitin natin ang National ID System para maging efficient ang distribution ng assistance o ayuda para walang dumudoble at walang ghost beneficiaries (They should use the National ID system so that the distribution of assistance won’t double and to prevent ghost beneficiaries),” the former lawmaker stressed.