Senators say P200 monthly 'ayuda' not enough, fuel excise taxes should be suspended

MADDELLA, Quirino — Some senators on Wednesday said the P200 monthly cash assistance to be given to poor families for a year is not enough amid the increase in the prices of fuel. They also said the excise tax on fuel should be temporarily suspended.

Presidential candidate and incumbent Senator Panfilo Lacson said the fuel excise taxes should be suspended temporarily until the conflict between Russia and Ukraine deescalates.

The lawmaker made the remark after the Department of Finance (DOF) proposed to President Rodrigo Duterte “targeted subsidies” of P200 per month per household for one year to the bottom 50% of Filipino households.

The DOF also sought the retention of excise taxes on oil products despite calls for its suspension.

The proposal was eventually approved by Duterte.

“Against P200 per month, napakaliit (that's too small). ‘Di kakayanin ‘yun, ‘di makakasapat (That won't suffice),” Lacson said in a press conference here.

The presidential bet explained that his proposal to suspend excise taxes on fuel is just temporary and the provision of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law [TRAIN] will not be “suspended forever.”

“Mag-suspend lang ng three months, hanggang lumipas 'yung invasion ng Russia sa Ukraine. Kasi ‘yun talaga 'yung primary cause kung bakit tumaas ‘yung fuel, e hindi naman permanente 'yung giyera,” Lacson pointed out.

(Suspend the excise tax for just three months until the invasion of Russia in Ukraine because that is the primary cause why the fuel prices are not increasing. The war is not permanent.)

Earlier, the lawmaker called on the DOF to revive the transitory provision in the TRAIN Law which suspends the scheduled increase in the excise tax when the three-month average of Dubai crude oil reaches $80 per barrel.

This provision, however, had lapsed following the effectivity of the last tranche of the excise tax increase in 2020.

If this provision under the TRAIN Law is revived, Lacson said the transport industry can save a maximum of P10 while ordinary drivers could save at least P5 to P6.

Lacson said if he will have a chance to meet with Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, he will explain his proposal  to the taxman.

He reiterated that this situation is a  “tug of war” between the DOF and the Department of Budget and Management.

'A pittance'

Meanwhile, Senator Grace Poe called the P200 cash aid for poor families "a pittance".

"Coming in after 11 weeks of successive oil price increases, the government's P200 per month cash assistance to poor families is a pittance. At P6.66 per day, it can't even get one a jeepney ride to the minimum distance," Poe said in a statement.

"Our people deserve more amid the battering of the high cost of living, joblessness and continuing impact of the pandemic," she added.

Poe said "the government must not scrimp on aid" to ensure people have enough to "feed their families, live decently, return to work safely and spur economic activity."

"We hope that proposals to suspend fuel tax will be given a serious thought to bring prices down. Or increase the P200 per month cash aid which is not enough to see our people through these hard times," she added.

'What we can afford'

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III on Tuesday admitted that the amount of P200 monthly for a year for poor households might not be enough but he pointed out that this is what the government can afford to provide as of this time.

“Mr. President, we realize this is not enough but this is what we can afford as of this time. And to make sure our finances going forward and especially for the next administration are still going to be healthy, this I believe is what we can afford,” Dominguez said during the Talk to the People aired Wednesday.

The targeted subsidies will amount to P33.1 billion in budgetary requirements, he said.

Dominguez said the funds for the subsidy would be sourced from the higher collection of value-added tax (VAT) due to the higher prices of fuel.

Meanwhile, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Lacson's running mate in Eleksyon 2022, on Wednesday said the decision is up to the executive department and lawmakers can only suggest.

"They are the executives, they call the shots. We can only suggest," Sotto said in a Viber message sent to reporters. —KG, GMA News