President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced he will certify as urgent a measure granting him emergency powers to suspend excise taxes on fuel, as global oil prices continue to climb due to escalating conflict in the Middle East.
Speaking to reporters in New York on Wednesday (Manila time), Marcos said both chambers of Congress must first complete their committee reports and open plenary debates before the bill can be fast-tracked.
“That is what I told them, both Houses. And I said, the minute that you have completed your committee reports… when you declare a bill as urgent… the shortcuts, if we say, only begin on the plenary debates,” he stated.
The president added that the proposed powers would be triggered once oil prices breach $80 per barrel on average for a month. “What we asked of the legislature is really very simple,” Marcos said. “When the price of oil has breached $80 per barrel on average for a month, then the emergency powers can be exercised.”
On Monday, House Speaker Faustino Dy and House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos filed a bill seeking to authorize the suspension of excise taxes on petroleum products.
In the Senate, President Vicente Sotto III and Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson said they would prioritize parallel proposals to grant emergency powers in response to the oil supply crisis.
The legislative push comes as tensions in the Middle East intensified following U.S. and Israeli missile strikes on Iran that targeted military facilities and killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The attacks have rattled global energy markets, with crude prices surging past key thresholds. (ZIA LUNA)
