Suspending the excise tax offers a better respite than telling oil companies to fully implement a fuel price rollback, Senator Risa Hontiveros said on Monday, April 20.

Hontiveros pointed this out in response to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr.’s directive for oil companies to implement an oil price cut after announcing there would be a huge price rollback of P24.94 per liter for diesel, P3.41 for gasoline and P2 for kerosene this week.

“Mas mararamdaman pa rin ng mga Pilipino ang ginhawa kung isususpinde ang excise tax (Filipinos will still feel better if the excise tax is suspended),” Hontiveros said in a statement.

“May rollback, ok yan. Pero dapat bantayan kung susunod talaga ang oil firms at kanilang gas stations sa malakihang rollback, at hindi patingi-tingi lang (A rollback is okay. But we need to watch out to see if oil firms and their gas stations will actually follow the large-scale rollback, and not just in small increments),” she said.

Hontiveros pointed out, many Filipinos are already complaining about the profiteering and the feeling they are being overcharged during this time of crisis.

The senator said she believes that it would still take longer for the Philippines to fully stabilize the price of oil or return to the original prices before the escalation of the Middle East conflict involving Iran and the United States started.

“Malayo pa rin tayo sa presyo ng petrolyo bago ang gyera, at anytime, pwede pa ulit tumaas yan. Kaya hindi pwedeng sa rollback matapos ang usapan (We are still far from the price of petroleum before the war, and at any time, it can increase again. So the rollback cannot be the end of the conversation),” she said.

With this, Hontiveros said the government should now seriously consider proposals seeking to reduce the value-added tax (VAT) to combat rising inflation, reduce consumer costs and ease the burden on middle-income households.

The government should also consider pushing for the P52.8-billion emergency supplemental budget that would provide additional subsidy to all sectors affected by the oil crisis.

“Dapat ding pag-aralan na bawasan ang value-added tax para proteksyunan ang konsyumers (We should also study reducing the value-added tax to protect consumers),” she said.

“Dapat maisabatas din ang nauna kong mungkahi na P52.8-B emergency supplemental budget para sa mga sektor na pinakaapektado gaya ng public transport drivers, OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) sa kanilang repatriation o reintegration, at mga magsasaka at mangingisda (My previous proposal of a P52.8-B emergency supplemental budget for the sectors that are most affected such as public transport drivers, OFWs in their repatriation or reintegration, and farmers and fishermen should also be enacted),” she stressed.

Earlier, President Marcos approved the suspension of excise taxes on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and kerosene but sustained it on diesel and gasoline.

The Department of Finance (DOF) said the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) did not recommend suspending the excise tax on diesel and gasoline as this might mostly benefit the rich.

However, some senators oppose this, with Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian insisting that diesel “is fuel for the masses.”