Cagayan de Oro City 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez. (File photo from his Facebook page)
MANILA, Philippines — House Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez on Wednesday vowed to push for the four-year suspension of excise on fuel and other oil products.
The Cagayan de Oro lawmaker expects the prices of diesel, gasoline, cooking gas, and other oil products to continue rising due to the European Union’s decision to ban 90 percent of oil imports from Russia by the end of 2022.
The EU decision has already caused a jump to over $110 per barrel for crude oil in the international market.
Rodriguez likewise opposed the proposal to impose new taxes or increase existing rates to raise funds to service the country’s P12.7-trillion debt.
In a statement, Rodriguez said he would file anew in the 19th Congress his bill seeking to stop the collection of fuel taxes for four years, the period he expects the economy to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of the Ukraine-Russia war.
“The suspension will bring immediate relief to our people,” he pointed out.
“Enacting the bill will cut pump prices by P6 per liter for diesel, P3 per kilogram for liquefied petroleum gas, P5 for kerosene and P5.65 per liter for gasoline,” he said.
—JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE
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