The ongoing conflict in the Middle East is taking a heavy toll on countries like the Philippines. This week alone, diesel prices surged to nearly PHP 24 per liter, while gasoline prices rose close to PHP 17 per liter.

In response, the government has considered measures such as reducing or temporarily suspending the fuel excise tax to help cushion the impact, at least until tensions ease and global oil prices stabilize.

The Senate on Tuesday approved on third and final reading Senate Bill 1982, granting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. the authority to reduce or suspend fuel excise taxes. A day later, the House of Representatives adopted the Senate version without objection, fast-tracking the measure’s passage and forgoing the bicameral process.

With both chambers aligned, the bill now only needs the President’s signature to become law. As of this writing, however, it has yet to be signed, despite being earlier certified as urgent by Malacañang.

PUV fare hike suspended

With fuel prices soaring, the public transport sector has been among the hardest hit, prompting calls for a fare hike. The increase was recently approved by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), and was set to take effect this week.

However, the President stepped in at the last minute, ordering the postponement to avoid adding to the burden on commuters.

“Sa aking palagay, dahil nga may problema pa rin tayo dahil sa giyera sa Middle East, ay sabi ko hindi siguro ito ang panahon para mag-taas ng pamasahe para sa ating mga kababayan. Kaya inutos ko sa DOTr na suspendihin muna ang fare hike at i-defer muna natin yan, i-postpone muna natin yan,” said the President through a video message to Filipinos.

(In my view, since we are still dealing with problems caused by the conflict in the Middle East, this may not be the right time to raise fares for our fellow Filipinos. That is why I ordered the DOTr to suspend the fare hike for now and defer it, postpone it for the meantime.)

The President assured PUV drivers and operators that fuel subsidies will be fast-tracked to cushion the impact of the looming fuel crisis.