Betheena Unite, writing for Manila Bulletin;
President Marcos has signed the law giving him emergency powers to suspend or reduce excise tax on petroleum products.
Marcos signed Republic Act (RA) No. 12316 on Wednesday, March 25, fulfilling what he said earlier in the day that he would be signing the measure into law within the day.
Under the law, the President may suspend the imposition of or reduce the excise taxes on fuel when the average Dubai crude oil price based on Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) reaches or exceeds $80 per barrel for one month immediately preceding the issuance of the suspension or reduction order.
You can read the Full text of Republic Act No. 12316 here.
Rappler write a great explainer on “How will suspending fuel excise taxes cushion a big oil price hike?” which is worth reading.
Suspending/reducing excise taxes cushions price hikes by providing immediate relief at the pump. By removing fixed taxes—specifically ₱10/liter for gasoline and ₱6/liter for diesel—the retail price drops instantly. This also triggers a “tax-on-tax” reduction, as the 12% VAT is no longer applied to the excised portion.
Beyond the pump, it helps curb inflation. By lowering transport and logistics costs, it prevents a domino effect on food prices and public transport fares. While this saves consumers money, it results in massive revenue losses (est. ₱136B), potentially forcing the government to reduce infrastructure spending or increase debt.
