Go signs resolution suspending LPG, kerosene taxes anew

Finance Secretary Frederick Go said he has signed the resolution suspending excise taxes on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and kerosene for another 90 days as the government seeks to ease the impact of surging fuel prices amid the ongoing Middle East conflict.

Go said he signed the resolution during the Department of Finance’s (DOF) Senate budget hearing on Tuesday, after Senator Bong Go once again pushed for the suspension of fuel excise taxes.

“I’ve followed this up for a while now, it was only earlier today that it reached me, so I signed it right away,” Secretary Go said in Filipino.

The DOF earlier confirmed in an 11 September statement that it was awaiting certification from the Department of Energy (DOE) that Dubai crude prices had breached the $80-per-barrel threshold for suspending or reducing excise taxes on petroleum products.

The DOE on 15 September certified that the relevant one-month Dubai crude average was $99.41 per barrel, well above the $80 statutory trigger.

Go, however, maintained his earlier stance that the DOF is not inclined to remove excise taxes on gasoline and diesel, citing the fiscal impact of such a move.

“If you remove taxes on diesel and gasoline, it will not be progressive,” he said.

“The wealthy are the ones who use the most diesel and gasoline. If we removed the taxes for everyone, the ones who would benefit the most would be the wealthy, because they are the ones who use [diesel and gasoline] the most,” added Go.

According to the department, suspending the taxes on the two fuels would result in an estimated P12 billion in lost government revenue every month.

Go made similar remarks following the April suspension of excise taxes on LPG and kerosene, noting that suspending excise taxes on diesel and gasoline would “not likely provide meaningful relief,” as any reduction in retail pump prices would be marginal and largely offset by prevailing market dynamics.

LPG and kerosene had previously been covered by a three-month excise-tax suspension earlier this year. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in his 2026 State of the Nation Address that the government had suspended the taxes on the two products as part of measures to cushion consumers from elevated oil prices, which had since lapsed after the mandated 90-day period.

The latest action gives households using LPG and kerosene another measure of relief while the government limits tax intervention on gasoline and diesel. Pump prices rose again on Tuesday, with regular diesel and Diesel Plus prices increasing by a maximum of P8.82 per liter, gasoline prices rising by as much as P4.88 per liter and kerosene prices increasing by up to P6.47 per liter.

The resolution is still subject to the President’s approval. Under RA 12316, the President is the one who can formally suspend the excise tax upon the recommendation of the DBCC and in coordination with the DOE.