President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said he would certify as urgent a bill granting him emergency powers to lower excise taxes on fuel amid rising oil prices driven by the conflict in the Middle East.
Speaking to reporters in New York on Wednesday (Manila time), the President said the certification would only be issued once both chambers of Congress complete their committee reports and begin plenary debates on the proposal.
“I will declare it as urgent because there’s no point declaring it as urgent before the committee report has been completed. The minute that you have completed your committee reports, that’s when the declaration of the bill as urgent really goes into effect,” he explained.
Marcos said the proposed measure would allow the government to exercise emergency powers should oil prices breach a certain threshold.
“When the price of oil has breached $80 per barrel on average for a month, then the emergency powers can be exercised,” he said.
He said the government’s request for emergency powers is meant to allow the executive branch to act quickly if global oil prices surge.
However, the president clarified that reaching the price threshold would not automatically trigger the use of emergency powers.
The proposal comes as the government continues to monitor global oil markets amid geopolitical tensions and supply uncertainties that could push prices higher and affect transport costs and commodity prices.
