Fuel taxes remain high. Prices keep rising. And the Filipino people are left carrying the weight of inaction.
At a time when the cost of living continues to surge at an unforgiving pace, the Filipino people find themselves trapped in a cycle of rising fuel prices and escalating daily expenses. From transportation to food, from basic goods to essential services—every sector feels the ripple effect of expensive oil. Yet amid this deepening crisis, the very measures that could provide immediate relief remain stalled.
The call is simple, urgent, and justified: suspend the excise tax, suspend the 12% VAT on fuel, and revisit the Oil Deregulation Law. These are not radical demands—they are necessary interventions in a time of economic distress.
Fuel is not a luxury. It is the lifeblood of the economy.
Every peso added to fuel cost translates into a heavier burden for ordinary Filipinos. Jeepney drivers struggle to earn. Farmers pay more to transport produce. Small businesses absorb rising logistics costs. Families stretch already thin budgets just to put food on the table. The consequences are widespread and unforgiving.
And yet, despite early pronouncements from the administration urging Congress to act, what followed raises serious questions.
Both houses moved. Legislative measures were drafted, deliberated, and passed—granting the executive the authority, even emergency powers, to suspend fuel taxes when necessary. It was presented as decisive governance, a show of urgency in the face of a growing crisis.
But today, those same measures remain idle.
The suspension that was promised has not been implemented. The relief that was expected has not materialized. What was framed as swift action now appears to have been reduced to mere political theater—announcements without execution, urgency without outcome.
Meanwhile, the economic reality tells a different story.
As fuel prices rise, so does the government’s VAT collection. The higher the price of oil, the higher the tax revenue generated from it. This creates a troubling contradiction: while the public suffers from increasing costs, government earnings from those same increases also grow.
And where does this revenue go?
It is often repackaged into targeted cash assistance programs—limited in scope, selective in distribution, and insufficient in addressing the broader economic strain. While ayuda provides temporary relief to a few, it does not solve the systemic burden carried by the many.
This raises a critical question:
Why maintain a system that profits from high prices, only to redistribute a fraction of it as aid?
Why not remove the burden at its source?
Suspending the excise tax and VAT on fuel is not merely an economic adjustment—it is an act of fairness. It directly reduces costs across all sectors, benefiting not just a select few but the entire population. It prevents price escalation instead of reacting to it. It empowers consumers instead of making them dependent.
Equally important is the urgent need to revisit the Oil Deregulation Law. While originally intended to foster competition, it has, in practice, exposed the local market to global volatility with minimal safeguards. In times like these, the absence of strong regulatory mechanisms leaves consumers vulnerable and unprotected.
This is no longer just a policy issue—it is a matter of political will.
The tools are already in place. The authority has already been granted. What remains is the decision to act.
The Filipino people do not need more speeches. They do not need more symbolic gestures. They need concrete, immediate relief.
Every day of delay means higher prices, deeper hardship, and growing frustration.
The government must decide:
Will it continue to benefit from rising fuel costs, or will it finally act to ease the burden on its people?
Because in the end, governance is not measured by intention—but by action.
And right now, the people are still waiting.
