ASEANEWS HEADLINE-WORLD OIL CRISIS | MANILA: Marcos gets power to suspend fuel tax, but no immediate relief announced
President Marcos signs Republic Act 12316 suspending excise tax on petroleum products at Malacañang last night.
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How is the Philippines reacting to its energy emergency | BBC News
How is the Philippines reacting to its energy emergency | BBC News
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos said he is working to secure new sources of oil after he placed the country under a state of national energy emergency in response to the war in Iran.
Marcos told Filipinos in a televised address that the government would procure one million barrels of oil to add to the current stock, which is good for 45 days.
The Philippines, which imports 98% of its oil from the gulf, became the first country to declare an energy emergency after local diesel and petrol prices more than doubled in the country since the war broke out on 28 February.
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(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday signed into law a bill granting him the power to suspend or reduce excise tax on fuel products.
The president signed Republic Act (RA) 12316 as part of the government’s efforts to cushion the impact of rising oil prices triggered by the war in the Middle East.
Marcos, however, said he was still determining the right time to use the new authority “because there are conditions within the law that have to be satisfied.”
“What’s difficult here is the constant changes in the prices of oil,” Marcos said. “So, it’s hard to plan. That’s why we have been trying to find the optimum levels in terms of support, the suspension of some of the charges that the government exacts, especially from food products,” he added.
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The measure authorizes the president to temporarily suspend fuel excise tax to help cushion the impact of global oil price hikes due to the war in the Middle East.
On March 3, Marcos bared plans to ask for a special power to reduce excise tax on petroleum products should prices exceed $80 per barrel. The price of Brent Crude was at $98 a barrel, down from a high of $119 since the US and Israel attacked Iran.
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The president signed on Tuesday an executive order declaring a state of national energy emergency as a response to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East that could affect the availability and stability of the country’s energy supply.
In the same briefing on Wednesday, Marcos said the declaration would “provide government with more options should the need arise.” “Nothing is off the table. We are looking at everything, everything that we can do. And so whatever suggestion that has been brought to us, whatever idea that has, that we have come up with,” the president said.
“We are examining it very, very closely in great detail to see if it is going to be advantageous to our people,” he added.
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