President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has ordered the removal of excise tax on liquefied petroleum gas and kerosene, a move he said will directly reduce household cooking costs for millions of Filipinos.
Marcos made the announcement at a Malacañang press conference Monday, citing the authority granted to him under existing laws to suspend the levy.
“Binawasan natin ang buwis sa produktong petrolyo na direktang ginagamit sa pangaraw-araw na buhay. So, sa ilalim ng kapangyarihan na binigay sa ating mga batas, tinanggal ko na ang excise tax sa LPG at sa kerosene. Ang katumbas nito ay P3.36 ang bawas ng kada kilo ng LPG. Halos P37.00 sa isang tanke ang mababawasan ng presyo,” he said.
The President placed the kerosene relief at P5.65 per liter. “Ibig sabihin magbababa ang gastos sa pagluluto at sa araw-araw na pangangailangan,” Marcos added.
The fate of excise taxes on diesel and gasoline remains unresolved. Those fuels are set to be taken up at a UPLIFT — Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport — meeting on Tuesday.
On the question of VAT removal for petroleum products, Marcos indicated he is weighing the option but is not prepared to act on it yet. He argued that rising crude prices have already generated windfall revenues from existing VAT collections, and that those funds serve a broader public purpose than a petroleum-specific relief measure would.
“If we take away the VAT on petroleum products, it will only help the petroleum market. What we need is funding to help the entire society. Hindi puwedeng—’yun lang—titingnan lang natin is the petroleum, petroleum, petroleum,” he said.
Marcos said the current calculus favors retaining VAT and redirecting the surplus into subsidies and other assistance programs, rather than passing the relief directly through the pump price.
