(MANILA BULLETIN)

A green tax measure is being sought by Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte under House Bill (HB) No.2894, or the proposed Piso para sa Kalikasan (A Peso for Nature) Tax.

Villafuerte says HB No.2894 represents the country’s first-ever carbon tax on electricity (CTE), which intends to augment state coffers while keeping the Marcos administration on track for its ambitious goal of a low-carbon economy.  

“One win-win revenue measure that the government can consider is a CTE or Piso para sa Kalikasan tax to help it raise extra funds beginning this year for higher public spending and for debt servicing and at the same time keep the Philippines on track to fighting climate change by reducing its GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions by 75 percent by the year 2030,” he said.

Villafuerte, president of the National Unity Party (NUP), has long been an advocate of green initiatives in the Congress.

“Collections from this proposed Piso para sa Kalikasan Tax are to be used for programs on climate-change mitigation and adaptation,” he said.

The measure proposes a CTE on the use of electricity, equivalent to P1 for every kilogram of CO2 emission per kilowatt hour (kWh).

Villafuerte filed the bill after Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Ralph Recto said the government will pursue the legislative passage this year of its remaining pririty tax measures to offset the impact of a slower rate-cutting cycle on the national debt service burden.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects the Philippine fiscal deficit to drop from 6.1 percent in 2023 to 5.6 percent in 2024 and 2025, with IMF Mission chief Elif Arbatli Saxegaard saying that the Philippines has to weigh different considerations in thinking about a carbon tax. 

“It is one option (carbon tax) for their consideration that can support the transition to a green economy to promote renewable energy, to shift consumption patterns away from polluting energy to more green energy sources,” she said. 

“We understand that there’s also different tradeoffs playing out here. The cost of power and electricity in the Philippines is quite high," added Saxegaard.