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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Sandro Marcos' travel tax abolition push gains more Senate support as Pangilinan files bill

Sandro Marcos' travel tax abolition push gains more Senate support as Pangilinan files bill

Published Feb 17, 2026 12:29 pm  |  Updated Feb 17, 2026 01:29 pm

At A Glance

  • House Majority Leader Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos' push for the abolition of the travel tax is gaining traction in the Senate.
Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan (left), Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos (Facebook)
Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan (left), Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos (Facebook)


House Majority Leader Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos' push for the abolition of the travel tax is gaining traction in the Senate.
This, after Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan filed Senate Bill (SB) No. 1843, which sought to scrap the burdensome levy viewed as a hindrance to the right to travel of those with limited means.
Pangilinan filed SB No. 1843, a week after presidential son Marcos publicized the filing of a similar measure--House Bill (HB) No. 7443--at the House of Representatives.
Marcos earlier said that Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri was on board with his plan to scrap travel tax.
“By lowering the cost of international travel, we expect to stimulate passenger volume, increase spending on transport, accommodation, food, and services, and generate positive spillovers across the economy,” read the explanatory note of Pangilinan's bill.
“Increased travel activity also strengthens people-to-people exchanges and supports the Philippines' positioning as a competitive and accessible destination,” it added.
Pangilinan explained that the current mandatory travel tax—P2,700 for first-class passengers and P1,620 for economy class—adds an extra cost or burden that impacts Filipinos’ right and ability to travel, which is guaranteed under Article III, Section 6 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
Instead of collecting the travel tax, the senator said that the current programs it is funding should be charged to the national budget of the Department of Tourism (DOT) for the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA).
The programs must also receive allocations from the annual appropriations of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) for the Higher Education Development Fund (HEDF) and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) for the National Endowment Fund for Culture and the Arts.
Marcos' bill had similar provisions.
If such bills are passed, it will abolish the travel tax imposed under Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1183, as amended, and Section 73 of Republic Act (RA) No. 9593, or the Tourism Act of 2009.
The bill was recently added to the list of priority measures under the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC).
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