The Department of Finance (DOF) opposes the proposal to temporarily suspend the excise tax on petroleum products in the face of the continuing spike in their prices.
At the Always Ready briefing, DOF spokesperson Asec. Paola Alvarez that much will be lost to the treasury when this proposal is made.
It will be noted that the temporary suspension of the excise tax on oil is one of the recommendations of the Fuel Crisis Ad Hoc Committee of the House due to the problem of soaring the price of petroleum products.
Alvarez said the DOF’s only proposal is for the government to provide targeted support to the poor who really need help.
On Thursday last week, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released a total of P3 billion to help public utility vehicle drivers, farmers, and fishermen with their current burden.

The Finance official also noted that the excise taxes are targeted mainly to the higher-income households which account for 48.8% of fuel consumption in the country.
The Department of Energy (DOE) has maintained that the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has hit global prices, which in turn impacted domestic prices.
Latest DOE data show that year-to-date adjustments stood at a total net increase of P13.25 per liter for gasoline, P17.50 per liter for diesel, and P11.40 per liter for kerosene as of March 8, 2022.
The same data revealed that prices in Metro Manila range from P59.85 per liter (Caloocan) to P84.55 per liter (Muntinlupa) for gasoline, and from P55.20 per liter (Pasig) to P73.39 per liter (Taguig) as of March 10, 2022.
For its part, the government has allocated some P2.5 billion to provide fuel vouchers for some 377,000 qualified public utility vehicle drivers across the country, amid the successive pump price hikes

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