Deputy Speaker Bernadette Herrera asked the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) to convene and firm up their recommendation to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on the suspension of excise tax on oil amid the unabated fuel price hikes.
Herrera said suspension is the only action the DBCC is authorized to exercise under Section 43 of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) law, but it is not their only option.
She said the DBCCC can set parameters and metrics on the implementation of the fuel tax suspension, adding Section 43 does not limit how long the suspension can take effect.
“Suspending the excise tax on imported crude and fuel is the call of the Development Budget Coordinating Committee. This is their mandate under the last part of Section 43 of Republic Act 10963, also known as the Train Law,” she said.
She also cited Section 82 of the law as it contains various response measures to high fuel prices.
“The fuel vouchers, better known as Pantawid Pasada, are but one of several solutions targeted to bring temporary relief to the poor,” she said.
She suggested that fare discounts at 10 percent, 10 percent discount on National Food Authority rice, and other social benefits can be improved and implemented by the national government.
Herrera said funding for these would come from the incremental revenues from the Train law in the first five years of its effectivity.
Malacañang earlier said the proposed fuel tax suspension requires the recommendation of the DBCC and the Department of Finance. – PNA
April 26, 2024
