President Marcos will certify as urgent a proposal that seeks to grant him authority to reduce the excise tax on petroleum products should prices exceed $80 per barrel, Malacañang said.

Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said that since the President was the one who asked the House and the Senate to grant him special powers to cut fuel taxes, he may also certify as urgent any related measure.

"Yes po, dahil po napapanahon (Yes, because it is timely)," Castro said on Wednesday, March 4, when asked if the President would declare it as urgent.

According to Castro, there is still no discussion about how much the reduction would be. The President just emphasized the need to reduce fuel tax in a bid to ease the expected oil supply disruption caused by the conflict in the Middle East.

The President will also listen to the economic team’s advice on the most appropriate rate of reduction for fuel taxes.

"Noong napag-usapan po ito kahapon, wala pong napag-usapan kung gaano kalaki, kung gaano kababa. Basta ang gusto lamang po niya sana ay magkaroon po siya ng power; pero temporary lamang po ito (When this was discussed yesterday, there was no talk about how much the reduction would be or how low it would go. What he wants, for now, is simply to be granted the authority, though only on a temporary basis)," Castro said.

"At sa panahon po na ganito na biglaan po may nangyayaring ganitong hidwaan, kinakailangan din po tayong makaagapay sa ating mga kababayan lalo na kung sobrang taas po ng presyo po ng krudo (In times like this, when conflicts suddenly arise, we also need to be able to assist our fellow citizens, especially if fuel prices become extremely high)," Castro added.

On Tuesday, Marcos revealed plans to ask Congress to grant him the authority to reduce excise taxes on petroleum products if prices exceed $80 per barrel and the Middle East conflict continues for two months.

"I am going to talk to the leaders in both the House and in the Senate to maybe—this is not yet –this is not yet a sure thing, but this is something that we are discussing and it could be helpful—is to give me, the President, the authority to reduce excise tax on petroleum products should Dubai crude exceed $80 per barrel," Marcos said in a press conference.

He noted that having such authority "is one tool that we will have to have."

A bill that seeks to give Marcos powers to suspend the excise tax on petroleum products has been filed in the House of Representatives, while in the Senate, a bill was filed to give the President the power to temporarily halt the collection of taxes on petroleum products during national or global economic emergencies.