On Tuesday, House of Representatives leaders met with representatives of the oil industry once more to request additional fuel price reductions as pump prices reached around P70 per liter.
Erwin Tulfo, a member of the ACT CIS Party List and the House Deputy Majority Leader, said that MPs demanded an additional P1.00 to P2.00 per liter reduction on top of the existing discounts offered by major oil companies and to broaden its coverage to include private automobiles. He claimed that the oil companies, however, have not yet made a promise.
“Ang pakiusap nalang namin ngayon, ng Kongreso, dagdagan ninyo ‘yung discounts na ipinamimigay ninyong Big 3. Baka pwede nyo doblehin o dagdagan ng piso o dalawang piso sa discounts… tapos baka pwedeng isama n’yo na ‘yung private sector,” Tulfo said in an interview with the media.
Ten years ago, there was a discount, but it was only a few dollars. He said, “Parang not enough. Hindi mo na maramdaman. Kaya ang hinihingi namin, baka pwede nyong doblehin.”
Tulfo believes it will be challenging to suspend the taxation of fuel through excise and VAT.
“Undoubtedly, VAT and excise are mahirap tanggalin. The calculation is somewhere between P12 billion and P15 billion as of December when the excise tax was first introduced. There is a budget deficit for you. The Finance Department is now in pumapalag. He said, “Parang mahirap lunukin din.
Tulfo claimed that the House Speaker had issued a warning that if representatives of the oil business refused to assist the government in addressing the rising cost of petrol, Congress might take action that would be “unpalatable” to them. The examination of the Oil Deregulation Law is one of the potential actions being considered.
“Ginagawa lahat ng house leadership. Ang problema, may mga batas tayo… na kinda parang hindi na effective ngayon. Maganda ito noong 90s, 70s, itong Oil Deregulation Law… Sabi ko dapat ibasura na, because hindi na siya effective. At parang nalinlang ang taumbayan noong aprubahan ito. Because hindi nagpababaan eh. Ang purpose ng oil deregulation is competition. E nagco-compete sila pataasan eh…. So where is the competition? Kung mayroon mang competition, competition to make a big profit,” Tulfo said.
