BUTUAN City — Vice President Ma. Leonor ‘Leni’ Robredo said on Wednesday the national government should act swiftly as fuel prices soared to record highs at the pumps.
Robredo said the Ukraine crisis, the key driver for the current spike in oil prices, is developing at a fast pace every day.
“The government should act quickly because there is no time to spare,” Robredo told transport representatives, medical personnel, and students who attended the town hall meeting at Father Saturnino Urios University here.
Robredo said the government has already received a bundle of proposed measures aimed to ease the impact of the war between Ukraine and Russia on the local economy.
She said they too have some proposed measures like the suspension of the excise tax for oil products and immediate distribution of fuel subsidies to food producers and transport drivers.
Her running mate, Senator Francis ‘Kiko’ Pangilinan, said analysts predict that the price per liter of gasoline may increase from P68 to P77 while prices for diesel could go up to P59 to P73 a liter.
“These would directly hurt the economy and our people will again go hungry,” Pangilinan said during the town hall meeting.
Pangilinan said prices of bread and flour-based products would go up next and would hurt Filipino who are heavy carbohydrate eaters.
Robredo said the government should resolve which measures it should adopt before it became “too late.”
The Department of Finance (DOF) has expressed disapproval on the proposed suspension of the excise tax saying the Philippines will lose P147.1 billion if the measure would be implemented.
In a meeting last week with President Rodrigo Duterte, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua proposed increasing the petroleum buffer stock from 30 to 40 days.
Chua also proposed increasing the LPG buffer stock from seven to 15 days.
