The government stands to lose more than PHP43 billion in revenues over three months if the suspension of excise taxes is widened to include diesel and gasoline on top of the existing coverage, the Department of Finance warned Tuesday.
DOF Undersecretary Karlo Adriano said the current suspension — limited to liquefied petroleum gas and kerosene as authorized by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. — is already projected to cost the government PHP4.1 billion in foregone revenues for the three-month period.
“Now, if you decide to include a suspension of diesel and gasoline [on top of] LPG and kerosene, it will be around PHP43.6 billion losses in three months,” Adriano said.
Even factoring in an estimated PHP13 billion to PHP14 billion in additional value-added tax collections driven by higher global oil prices, the net revenue damage from a full suspension would still reach around PHP30 billion, Adriano said.
“Again, if you consider full suspension of diesel and gasoline, if you include it, again, the total losses will be PHP43.6 billion. And your additional VAT collection will be around PHP13 to PHP14 billion. And then there’s a negative revenue loss of around PHP30 billion,” he said.
The Development Budget Coordination Committee, which recommended the existing measure to Marcos, has maintained a cautious stance and is conducting monthly policy reviews before considering any expansion.
Adriano cited Philippine Statistics Authority data showing that around 50 percent of kerosene consumption comes from the poorest 38 percent of Filipino households, and 56 percent of LPG use is attributed to the bottom 70 percent — figures used to justify keeping the suspension targeted rather than broad.
Under the current measure, consumers can expect savings of PHP36.95 per 11-kilogram LPG cylinder and PHP5.60 per liter of kerosene. A PHP10-per-liter fuel subsidy program remains in place for fuel types outside the suspension’s coverage.
