Why are members of Congress allowing the executive branch to keep value-added tax (VAT) on commodities including fuel products despite strong clamor to reduce it? A fired up Batangas 1st district Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste asked this question to his solon-colleagues Monday, April 13 during the...
Senator Loren Legarda on Monday, April 13 urged the government to consider the immediate suspension of fuel excise tax and value-added tax (VAT) on diesel and gasoline as millions of Filipinos still do not feel the government’s relief from the fuel hikes and rising prices of basic commodities. ...
The expected lifting or reduction of excise taxes on petroleum products must take effect swiftly, or right after President Marcos greenlights it via an executive order (EO). Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Miro Quimbo, presiding officer of the Legislative Energy Action Development (LEAD) Council,...
President Marcos is expected to announce his decision on the fuel excise tax cut on Tuesday, April 14, as the law granting him emergency powers to either reduce or suspend excise taxes on petroleum products has already taken effect. Marcos has yet to decide on the excise tax cut despite the...
Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Miro Quimbo has expressed reservations on the proposed scrapping of value-added tax (VAT) on fuel amid the House of Representatives ' efforts to come up with a legislative response to the persisting fuel price crisis. Quimbo, an economist, is mainly worried...
Batangas 1st district Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste is up in arms over the stratospheric price levels of fuel in the Philippines, which he described as among the most expensive in Asia. But at least this problem has a very simple solution, he noted. "Ang Pilipinas ay isa sa may pinakamataas na...
Tax incentives extended to schools are helping ease pressure for tuition increases as institutions grapple with rising operational costs, the Department of Education (DepEd) said on Wednesday, April 8. DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara said this as he highlighted the significant role of existing tax...
Senate President Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Sunday, April 5, called for a decisive—even “extreme”—government intervention that would shield Filipinos from the relentless surge in petroleum prices. In an interview on radio DZBB, Lacson said the government ought to disclose its actions...
Stressing that the current fuel price crisis isn 't the Filipinos ' own doing, Cavite 2nd district Rep. Lani Mercado-Revilla says the government must take it upon itself to provide the people with immediate relief. “Hindi kasalanan ng Pilipino ang krisis na ito, pero sila ang unang...
Why not redirect excess government revenues from fuel taxes to a direct subsidy program that would help Filipinos pay their monthly electricity bills? Murang Kuryente Party-list Rep. Arthur Yap floated this suggestion even as he pointed out Tuesday, March 31 that the skyrocketing of global oil...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE With the bill granting the president emergency powers regarding the energy crisis already passed, the president should not just reduce the excise tax on fuels. Rather, he should totally remove it, even temporarily, to give the people some breathing space amid the tightening...
Senator Loren Legarda is set to file the Bayanihan Power to the People Act, or the so-called Bayanihan 3 Law, which seeks to establish a decisive government framework in addressing the impacts of the global oil crisis on Filipino households and the national economy. Legarda stressed that Executive...
