Inday Sara urges President Duterte to call special session amid fuel price hikes

MANILA, Philippines — Vice presidential candidate Inday Sara Duterte-Carpio is urging President Rodrigo Duterte to call a special session to address issues with the rising fuel prices by suspending the excise tax on the commodity.

Duterte-Carpio made the remark Thursday after she and her running mate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. called on the government to suspend the excise tax on fuel imports to cushion the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war.

“Not as a daughter to a father but as a Filipino citizen ‘yan po ang aming—ang sa UniTeam po unang-una is ‘yung suspension po ng excise tax. And pangalawa po is the re-studying of the oil price stabilization na dapat finu-fund-an ng gobyerno,” Duterte-Carpio said when asked if she will urge President Duterte to call a special session.

“Ang pagtawag po sa special session aya nasa desisyon po yan o discretion ng Pangulo ng Pilipinas,” she added.

Nonetheless, Duterte-Carpio said the issue is a “very big problem” and that the Congress — both the Senate and the House of Representatives — should help the executive department in creating ways to help Filipinos.

The bill seeking to suspend the excise taxes on oil remains pending in the House of Representatives.

However, Congress — the Senate and the House — are currently on break for the elections. Campaign for local posts will begin on March 25 while campaign for national posts began on February 8.

Meanwhile, the Palace has called on the Congress to study the Oil Deregulation Law amid the soaring fuel prices.

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