Bongbong expresses apprehension about suspending fuel excise tax

Former Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. appeared to have changed his mind about the proposed suspension of the excise tax on petroleum products, preferring instead to push for oil subsidies and the reactivation of the Oil Price Stabilization Fund.

“Merong mga nagsasabi 'wag na magbayad muna ng excise tax. Ang problema ‘pag ganun ang ating ginawa mawawalan ang gobyerno ng P117 billion bawat taon,” the presidential candidate said during a meet and greet with barangay officials in Parañaque City on Saturday.

(Some say the payment of excise tax must be temporarily stopped. But the problem is, if we do that, the government will lose P117 billion each year.)

On Friday, the Department of Budget and Management said that the Philippines will lose P117 billion in revenues, representing 0.5% of the country's gross domestic product, if the government suspends the collection of excise tax.

Marcos Jr.’s latest remarks deviated from the stand taken by him and his running mate, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, earlier that the government should "suspend excise tax on fuel imports as a form of subsidy for oil companies." 

Sara Duterte even urged her father, President Rodrigo Duterte, to call for a special session of Congress to address the rising cost of fuel and its impact on the prices of commodities.

“Sa aking palagay ang dapat nating gawin ay magkaroon na tayo ng oil subsidy na ang gobyerno ang nagbabayad ng bahagi ng presyo ng langis nang sa ganun… meron na tayong oil subsidy at OPSF siguro hindi na mararamdaman ng mga consumers, negosyo ang pagtataas ng presyo ng langis,” Marcos Jr. said.

(Oil subsidies, in my opinion, should be created by government to help consumers and companies offset the effects of rising oil prices.)

The OPSF was set up by his father, the late President Ferdinand Marcos, in 1984 to help protect consumers from fluctuations in the price of petroleum in the world market.

“Matagal ko nang sinasabi na dapat balikan natin ‘yung dating sinasabi na magkaroon tayo ng OPSF, isang pondo na ang kontribusyon galing sa oil companies,” Marcos Jr. said.

(I've long advocated for the re-establishment of the OPSF, which would be funded by contributions from oil companies.)

Under OPSF, oil companies contributed a portion of their sales to the fund. When the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act was passed during the presidency of Fidel Ramos, the scheme was scrapped.

Marcos Jr. said the OPSF can be tapped when there is a sudden spike in domestic pump prices.

“Imbis na bigla na pagtaas… kukunin natin sa pondong ‘yun [at] hindi natin ibibigla [ang pagtaas],” he said.

He stated that the country is powerless to intervene when the price of petroleum products skyrockets as a result of geopolitical conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

“Wala tayong kontrol diyan. Kung nag giyera ang Ruso at Ukraine [at] nagtaasan ang presyo ng langis wala tayong magagawa diyan,” Marcos Jr. said.

(We don't have any control over it. If oil prices go up because of the war between Russia and Ukraine, we will not be able to do anything about it.) 

According to projections provided on Saturday by Unioil Petroleum Philippines, motorists should expect another round of substantial rise in pump prices in the coming week, which could mark the 11th consecutive week of price increases. — VBL, GMA News