00:00Meantime, the bandwagon seeking to empower the President with the capacity to pause the collection of excise taxes and fuel
00:06has drawn more support from Senators of the 20th Congress, the latest of whom are lawmakers Francisco Pangilinan and Francis
00:14Escudero,
00:15whose bill version includes stripping the value-added tax slapped on fuel, as our Luisa Erispe reports.
00:24The Senate Committee on Ways and Means has approved in principle the proposal to grant President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
00:31emergency powers
00:32to suspend or reduce the excise tax on petroleum products.
00:36According to Committee Chairperson Sen. Pia Cayetano, the panel has concluded its deliberations
00:41and is currently awaiting the final version of the measure from the House of Representatives.
00:46While a majority of the members support the granting of emergency powers,
00:50the committee has yet to determine whether a full suspension or partial reduction of the excise tax
00:55is a more viable course of action.
00:58In principle, the members who attended are supportive of the main principle of the bill,
01:08which is to give emergency powers to the President.
01:11The committee will also seek the formal position of the Department of Finance, or DOF,
01:16regarding the fiscal implications of a tax reduction versus a full suspension,
01:20a matter expected to be central in the upcoming plenary debates.
01:24In fairness, DOF said, they will, they will, no, and they also, DOF told us that they would submit to
01:31the wisdom of Congress.
01:32Pero ako naman, am also mindful na kayong mag-i-execute then.
01:35So, sabihin nyo rin naman sa amin, at medyo mas okay.
01:38Data presented during the committee hearing indicates that the government stands to lose
01:43approximately 136 billion pesos in revenue should the excise tax be completely suspended.
01:49Consequently, the Department of Budget and Management has suggested
01:53that the government may need to implement austerity measures,
01:56such as adopting flexible working hours, similar to pandemic-era policies,
02:00or reallocating unobligated funds.
02:03What could happen, a possibility, is that there could be some, by the action of the President,
02:11some unobligated or unreleased funds may be impounded.
02:16Finance Department clarified that even with the temporary removal of excise tax,
02:21the government will still generate revenue from value-added tax on oil,
02:25particularly as prices increase, hence, adjusting the VAT remains off the table for now.
02:31Meanwhile, the Department of Energy has proposed prioritizing the removal of excise tax on diesel,
02:36as it constitutes the primary fuel source for public utility vehicles.
02:41The more concerning part is diesel, kasi diesel, 65% of diesel is used by public transportation.
02:49I do suggest if we have to choose, diesel should be the priority.
02:53It could be just a partial reduction, not a full reduction, or it could even be a time-bound reduction
03:00lang.
03:01The Department of Trade and Industry has also recommended a temporary moratorium on toll fees
03:06for vehicles delivering essential goods and prime commodities.
03:10We also recommend the temporary moratorium on toll fee for cargo and delivery vehicles,
03:16transporting basic necessities and prime commodities products,
03:20traversing the major expressway.
03:23Plenary discussions on the measure are expected to commence on Monday,
03:27pending the submission of the House version to the Senate.
03:30The Senate leadership has expressed readiness to expedite the bill's passage
03:34should a president certify it as urgent.
03:37Luisa Erispe from the National TV Network for a new and better Philippines.
03:41of all fleas are on the stalls for a star-sperd quien.
03:41The N Known also has a standard responsibility.
03:41Y soon after this administration is the minimum of demander foretime to ensure the plan of paying.
03:41La liaison is the number of cara-maggio's displays that the public-driven implications
03:42set of the designation of a new and better livinguchen.
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