Amid soaring oil prices, Marcos prefers giving 'ayuda' instead of suspending excise tax

Amid the continuing increase of prices of fuel products, President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said Monday he prefers to provide assistance to the affected sectors instead of suspending the excise tax on oil.

At a press briefing, Marcos said decreasing the excise tax on oil products does not help those affected by the soaring prices. He said those who were directly affected, especially the transport sector, should be prioritized.

"I prefer to handle on the other hand of the equation and provide assistance to those who are in need. If you reduce excise taxes that does not necessarily help those who are most in need 'yung talagang tinatamaan kasi blanket e. So ang aking iniisip, kung sino ang talagang tinatamaan, example 'yung lumabas kaagad 'yung transport, 'yung nagpapasada, all of that, 'yung tinamaan kaagad i-focus muna natin on that," he said.

(If you reduce excise taxes that does not necessarily help those who are most in need, those who are really affected. So I'm thinking of giving assistance directly to those who are affected, those public utility drivers, let's focus on them.)

"'Yung mayroong may kaya, they can afford to pay even the VAT, those whose  livelihoods are in danger or in danger of losing their livelihoods because of the increase of the oil, doon tayo dapat mag-focus," he added.

Further, Marcos mentioned that for ensuring the speedy distribution of assistance, there is a need to "digitize the bureaucracy" and hasten the processing and issuance of the National ID.

"It has to be focused. It's not something that we talked about the listing on how do we do the proper listing of the indigents around the country to make sure that it is those who are truly in need. That hits upon the discussion that we have about accelerating the issuance of the National ID," Marcos said.

"All of these things, the giving of ayuda, all of these things if we're trying to digitize the bureaucracy, it all really depends on everyone having their National ID," Marcos added.

Pump prices of petroleum products could reach P100 per liter should the weekly increases continue due to a mix of factors, according to the Department of Energy (DOE).

Oil firms have announced a price increase that will take effect on Tuesday — gasoline by P0.80, diesel by P3.10, and kerosene by P1.70 — marking the third straight week of increases.

The DOE had renewed calls for the amendment of the Oil Deregulation Law, which it believes, could help address the steep increase in the prices of fuel products.—AOL, GMA News