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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Senate eyes approval of Marcos emergency powers on fuel excise taxes next week

Senate eyes approval of Marcos emergency powers on fuel excise taxes next week

Published Mar 13, 2026 10:39 am

At A Glance

  • The Senate will act as soon as possible next week on the bill authorizing the president to suspend or reduce excise taxes on petroleum products during national or global economic emergencies.
The Senate is looking to pass next week the bill authorizing the president to suspend or reduce excise taxes on petroleum products during national or global economic emergencies.
Traditional jeepneys ply their routes along Padre Burgos Avenue in Manila on Tuesday, March 10. (Mark Balmores)
Traditional jeepneys ply their routes along Padre Burgos Avenue in Manila on Tuesday, March 10. (Mark Balmores)
This was after President Marcos certified it as urgent. Yet the Senate cannot sponsor a counterpart bill until the House passes its version on third reading and transmits it to the upper chamber.
In a letter dated March 12 addressed to House Speaker Faustino Dy III, Marcos said the immediate enactment of House Bill No. 8418 is necessary to allow the government to respond quickly to extraordinary volatility in global fuel prices.
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri said that as soon as the House bill reaches the Senate, they will immediately act on it in plenary. Tax measures must originate from the lower chamber under the Constitution.
"Since it's certified [as urgent], we shall finish it next week. That is the plan, and it's a priority as well for the Senate," he said in a Viber message.
Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III echoed Zubiri's statement.
"Asap next week," Sotto said in a Viber message to reporters.
Senator Pia Cayetano recently said that the Senate Committee on Ways and Means approved "in principle" the proposals that would grant President Marcos powers to either suspend or reduce excise tax on fuel amid rising fuel costs.
Cayetano said that there are 10 bills on the suspension or reduction of excise taxes on fuel or petroleum products, and one bill on the abolition of excise taxes on petroleum products, and one Senate resolution on the impact of global oil prices, volatility, oil price volatility arising from the heightened Middle East tensions.
The senator added that the Senate is also finalizing details of its own version of the proposal, including determining the price threshold that would trigger the President’s authority to suspend or reduce excise taxes, as well as the conditions for ending that authority.

Related Tags

President Marcos House of Representatives excise tax Senate of the Philippines
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