March 18, 2026
MANILA – The Senate on Tuesday approved on third and final reading a bill that would give President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. the power to suspend or reduce the excise taxes on petroleum products to temper the impact of the surging fuel prices.
Seventeen senators voted to approve Senate Bill No. (SBN) 1982, authorizing the president to suspend or reduce the excise taxes on fuel “when the average based on Mean of Platts Singapore has reached or exceeded USD 80 per barrel for one month preceding the issuance of the suspension or reduction order.”
Its counterpart in the House of Representatives, however, provides another condition before allowing the automatic suspension or reduction of the excise taxes on petroleum products.
In House Bill No. 8418 approved in the lower chamber on Monday, there is a need for the president to declare a state of national emergency or calamity to justify the suspension or reduction of the excise taxes on petroleum products.
Since the measure is certified as urgent by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the Senate skipped the three-day rule and proceeded with the approval on third and final reading immediately after passing it on second reading.
Explaining her yes vote, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said SBN 1982 “can provide short-term relief to Filipino families, commuters, and small businesses who are already struggling with rising costs.”
“However, it is clear that suspending the excise tax alone is not enough,” she said. “The global nature of the price shock means that any reduction at the pump may be limited and, in some cases, delayed,” she said in Filipino.
She also suggested the need to complement the measure by a supplemental budget to ensure that assistance would be felt directly by most affected sectors, such as drivers, commuters, farmers, fisherfolk, and others who rely on the daily use of fuel.
“Direct subsidies will provide more immediate, more targeted, and more equitable relief than a broad tax suspension, which may not be felt by everyone,” she said in Filipino.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate committee on finance, said he voted to approve the bill, citing the urgent need to help Filipinos amid the rapid fuel price increases.
“Thus, the suspension of the excise tax is timely to help ease the burden being felt by our fellow citizens,” he said in Filipino.
Sen. Pia Cayetano, head of the Senate committee on ways and means, though warned earlier that the suspension of excise tax on petroleum products“could result in a revenue loss of around P136B billion.”
Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, who was presiding over the session, expressed hope that Cayetano could talk to her counterpart in the House if they are willing to adopt the Senate version.
Sotto likewise floated the possibility of a “paper bicam” to fast-track the enactment of the measure.
“Yes, the battle is not over yet Mr. President. We have to ratify this by tomorrow,” Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said.
Another measure, SBN 1965, was also certified urgent by the President as tensions in the Middle East continue.
The bill seeks to amend the Biofuels Act of 2006 to allow the president to temporarily suspend the mandatory use of locally-sourced biofuels “if the price of blended gasoline and/or diesel engine fuels is higher by at least 5 percent compared to pure gasoline and/or diesel engine fuels.”
The currently law requires all liquid fuels for motors and engines sold in the Philippines to contain locally-sourced biofuels.
“However, circumstances today compel us to revisit how these mandates operate during periods of extraordinary volatility in global fuel markets,” Sen. Pia Cayetano explained on Monday when she sponsored the bill as head of the Senate committee on ways and means.
“While the use of local biofuels provide environmental and agricultural benefits, it is not always the cheaper alternative,” Cayetano said.