Presidential candidate and Manila mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso on Monday, March 8, appealed to the Congress to consider his proposal to cut the fuel excise tax by half amid the continued rise in world oil prices.

“Kung may panahon pa sa Kongreso nananawagan din tayo na yung pino-propose natin na 50 percent tax cuts sa krudo at 50 percent tax cuts sa kuryente, kumbaga magpalugi muna tayo bilang gobyerno sa pagkalap ng buwis pero siya namang maibabalik natin na savings sa bawat pamilyang Pilipino (If there is still time in Congress, we are appealing for the 50 percent tax cuts on crude oil and 50 percent tax cuts on electricity, we as a government will first lose money in collecting taxes but we can return the savings to every family),” he said in an interview.

“But for now, I can only suggest wala naman tayo sa posisyon na bigyan ng direktiba yung ating mga mambabatas (we are not in a position to give directives to our Congress),” Domagoso added.

The Manila mayor had also projected that the price of oil in the market will continue to surge due to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

Oil prices worldwide have surged to over $100 per barrel since the tensions between Russia and Ukraine escalated last Feb. 24.

Slashing taxes on fuel and electricity are some of the major campaign pledges of Domagoso.