MANILA, Philippines — Contrary to his previous call, presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. now wants the collection of excise tax on fuel products to continue.
During the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum on Wednesday, Marcos was asked regarding the Department of Finance’s (DOF) proposal to provide P200 monthly assistance to poor Filipino households instead of suspending the collection of excise tax on fuel products.
READ: DOF nixes fuel excise tax suspension, proposes P200 monthly aid to poor families
“I happen to agree that the excise taxes should still be collected,” Marcos said.
“However, I do not agree [with the ayuda] because yung mga system of coupons and ayuda… everybody uses oil itself—gasoline, crude, everybody uses that. So how do you choose kung saan pupunta yung ayuda? Dito ba o diyan?” he added.
(However, I do not agree with the proposal because of our current system of assistance distribution… Everybody uses oil itself—gasoline, crude, everybody uses that. So how do you choose where the assistance will go? Will it go here or there?)
According to Marcos, many will be “left behind” if the proposed P200 monthly assistance is pushed through, saying that the system of distribution of financial assistance is “imperfect.”
Marcos, instead, pushed for the provision of oil subsidy which the national government is already implementing, particularly for public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers affected by the fuel price increase.
“So my approach would be to continue to collect the excise tax but provide an oil subsidy so that anybody who is using oil-related products which is basically everybody, [so that everybody] will feel the effect, not only yung nasa listahan (not only those in the list),” Marcos said.
“Pero kung gawin nating oil subsidy, in other words, kung bumibili tayo ng langis na whatever the price is… then some of that increase will be covered by the oil subsidy so that kung may increase man na umabot pa sa tao ay maliit na lang,” he added.
(If we make it an oil subsidy, in other words, if we buy fuel, whatever the price is, then some of that increase will be covered by the oil subsidy so that if there are increases, it will have minimal impact to the people.)
Marcos, along with his running mate Davao City mayor Inday Sara Duterte-Carpio, previously called on the government to suspend the excise tax on fuel imports to cushion the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war.
READ: Marcos: Suspend fuel excise taxes