The government is awaiting the go-ahead from President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to suspend or reduce excise taxes on fuel as the Middle East conflict persists, the Department of Finance (DOF) said on Monday.

Speaking at the House’s Legislative Energy Action and Development Committee hearing, Finance Undersecretary Rolando Ligon said they are still waiting for further directives from the Office of the President as domestic fuel prices continue to rise.

“We're still awaiting the instructions from the Office of the President with regards to the lifting of the excise tax,” he said.

“If the Office of the President releases [the Executive Order] today, the effectivity will be one to two days,” Ligon added.

Signed on 25 March, Executive Order No. 110 declared a state of national “energy emergency” for one year, while also authorizing the President to reduce or suspend excise taxes on fuel products. As a net oil importer, the Philippines has been severely affected by the Middle East conflict, with domestic pump prices rising by more than 60 percent since the escalation of the conflict at the beginning of last month.

Government officials have called for the suspension or reduction of fuel excise taxes to preserve Filipino purchasing power, with pump prices remaining in the triple-digit-per-liter range in Metro Manila. However, some lawmakers have pushed back against the proposal, with the DOF earlier projecting around P119 billion in foregone government revenues if the taxes are suspended.

“Right now, we still do not have a directive. We are still waiting on it. Once the President issues an Executive Order on suspension of imposition of excise taxes on fuel, the Finance department will be issuing necessary memoranda to the Bureau of Customs,” Ligon added.

The Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) earlier said that suspending excise taxes on petroleum products could reduce prices by around P6 per liter for diesel and P10 per liter for gasoline.

Ligon, however, clarified that any potential suspension of excise taxes will apply only to new oil inventory or supply, not to existing stock already in the country.

“Yes [the measure is only for new inventory]. It will be hard [to implement the proposed suspension]…with regards to administrative feasibility, reducing the excise tax dues on fuel supply that are already here,” he added.