Senate chief wants Palace to have ‘standby' authority to lower petrol duties

SENATE PRESIDENT Francis G. Escudero on Wednesday said he is looking at filing a measure that would provide the Executive the authority to cut down value-added tax and excise duties on petroleum products in the next Congress.

- 

The President or the Finance department should be empowered to suspend oil duties to respond to surging fuel prices, he said at a media briefing, adding he wants to revise the global price reference and trigger level for invoking his proposed “standby” powers.

“It is still being finalized,” he said in Filipino. “Because of the ongoing unrest in the Middle East, one of the measures we'll file is the standby authority we want to grant... to lower the value-added tax or fix the excise tax rates [on oil].”

“What's being debated now is the threshold amount,” he added.