Metro Manila, Philippines – The highly anticipated bill granting the president authority to suspend or reduce fuel excise taxes has been approved by both chambers of Congress, leaving only the reconciliation of differing provisions before it can be sent to Malacañang for enactment.
The Senate passed the measure on second and third reading during its plenary session on Tuesday, March 17 — a move made possible after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. certified it as urgent.
All 17 senators present voted in favor of the bill.
Similar to the House version, the Senate measure authorizes the president to impose tax cuts if the average price of Dubai crude oil exceeds $80 per barrel for one month.
However, the House version adds another condition: the president must declare a state of national emergency or calamity, which has led to extraordinary increases in pump prices, as certified by the Department of Energy.
Both chambers will now have to reconcile the differences. Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said lawmakers aim to ratify the final version on Wednesday, the last session day before Congress adjourns until May 3.
Up to 45 days before pump prices decrease
Senate committee on ways and means chairperson Pia Cayetano said data from the Department of Finance indicates that suspending the excise tax could reduce gasoline prices by ₱11.20 per liter and diesel by ₱6.72.
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson asked how soon consumers could feel the price rollback once the suspension takes effect.
Cayetano said it could take 30 to 45 days, noting that oil companies typically maintain buffer stocks purchased with excise taxes already applied.
“From the time that the executive makes that decision, it could reach 30-45 days kasi may stock na po ang mga oil companies, may nabili na sila [because oil companies still have existing stock that they already purchased],” Cayetano explained.
“But as the days go on, mamomonitor naman natin yun kung paubos na yung stock nila ganoon and they’re now buying without the excise tax din, then, may chance naman na mas sooner mararamdaman,” she added.
[Translation: But as time goes on, we can monitor when their stock is being depleted and when they begin buying without excise tax. There’s a chance consumers may feel the impact sooner.]
Lacson initially proposed shortening the monitoring period to two weeks.
“These are extraordinary times,” he said.
“Hindi ito yung normal na nag-COVID o kaya medyo tumaas lang yung presyo ng langis… we don’t even know how much more the world price of crude oil will rise because of the Iran situation,” he added.
However, Cayetano said there is no need to adjust the monitoring period, emphasizing that the Department of Energy already tracks price movements and factors in weeks of price increases when computing averages. She added that this would not prolong the waiting time for consumers.
