MANILA, Philippines – Kinuwestiyon ng isang mambabatas kung ginamit lang bilang “props” ang House of Representatives sa plano ng administrasyon na suspindihin ang excise tax sa fuel, matapos aprubahan ng Kamara ang panukala ngunit LPG at kerosene lamang ang isinama sa ipinatupad.
Sa pagdinig ng House Legislative Energy and Development (LEAD) committee noong Miyerkules, tinanong ni APEC party-list Rep. Sergio Dagooc ang Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) kung ano ang naging rekomendasyon na nag-udyok kay Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. na gawing urgent ang House Bill (HB) No. 8418.
Ayon kay Dagooc, nag-overtime ang Kongreso para maipasa ang panukala na mag-aamyenda sa Section 148 ng National Internal Revenue Code, ngunit hindi isinama sa suspensyon ang gasolina at diesel na ginagamit ng karamihan ng motorista.
“Our hearings would reach nine, ten in the evening, only to find out that only a few heads would talk to make the decision. Let us be clear so that we would not waste time anymore, as we are being accused of conducting meetings and spending public funds […] without having any output,” ani Dagooc.
“Here in Congress, I have been going back and forth from my province to Manila, but we have no output. That’s why I asked that, please submit that (document) so that we would know what you talked about. Because with what happened, it seems that we were used as props here,” dagdag pa niya.
Bago ito, naghain si Dagooc ng mosyon na obligahin ang mga ahensya ng DBCC na isumite ang kanilang rekomendasyon sa Pangulo, pati minutes ng meeting at iba pang dokumento, upang maunawaan kung bakit LPG at kerosene lang ang sinuspinde.
“What I am asking for is your recommendation […] that triggered the certification of urgency (bill) before we went on a break, to pass the excise tax suspension measure. What triggered it?” tanong niya.
“Because if you would only talk among yourselves and be consulted by the President, why are we even here?” dagdag pa niya.
Sumagot si Finance Undersecretary Karlo Adriano na nagkaroon ng pulong ang iba’t ibang ahensya at napagkasunduang bahagi ng tugon sa epekto ng Middle East conflict ang suspensyon ng excise tax.
“Mr. Chair, the context behind the proposal of the executive to reduce or suspend excise is due to a meeting of different agencies, and it was agreed upon that this should […] form part of our solution as a response to the crisis,” ani Adriano.
“Now, as translated into the law, the DBCC will recommend to the President what will be the coverage and the specific reduction for the excise tax. So that is the process of the DBCC, we made recommendations based on our review and analysis, and our recommendation was a suspension on (excise taxes for) LPG and kerosene and a fuel discount of P10 per liter,” dagdag pa niya.
Hindi naman nasiyahan sina Dagooc at Cavite Rep. Jolo Revilla sa sagot, at sinabi ni Revilla na minadali ng Kongreso ang panukala dahil inaasahang makakatulong ito sa lahat.
“Mr. Chair, I just want to add, like I said earlier, when the President certified this as urgent, both Houses acted up right away, we worked on this, did not think twice because we know that everyone would benefit from this — from the poor, the middle class, everyone will benefit,” ani Revilla.
Sa huli, sinabi ni Adriano na aalamin pa kung aling ahensya ang nagrekomenda.
“Mr. Chair, we will find out but as far as I know there were several meetings with different agencies and then the instruction relayed to us is that we need to push for this as an option that we can use to respond to the crisis,” aniya.
Matatandaang umani ng batikos ang Malacañang dahil sa umano’y mabagal na tugon sa pagtaas ng presyo ng langis dulot ng tensyon sa Middle East. Inanunsyo rin ang pagbuo ng crisis committee at nilagdaan noong Marso 25 ang batas na nagpapahintulot sa Pangulo na magsuspinde ng excise tax sa fuel batay sa rekomendasyon ng DBCC.
Gayunman, nagdulot ng tanong ang probisyon ng P10 kada litro na diskwento para sa public utility vehicles, lalo na kung iiwasan ang pagsuspinde ng excise tax sa diesel. Sa huli, LPG at kerosene lamang ang isinama sa kautusan ng Pangulo.
May pangamba rin na magdudulot ng malaking bawas sa kita ng gobyerno ang suspensyon ng excise tax. Ayon kay Adriano, maaaring umabot sa P136 bilyon ang mawawala sa kita ng bansa sa 2026 kung aalisin ang excise tax sa petroleum products—P121.4 bilyon mula sa excise tax at P14.6 bilyon mula sa mas mababang VAT collection. RNT/MND
