Roxas vows to push for immediate relief thru oil VAT suspension

Senator Mar Roxas vowed to continue the fight for the suspension of the 12% value-added tax (VAT) on petroleum products, even if the administration has repeatedly rejected the said measure, which seeks to bring immediate relief to commuters and consumers.

“Ilang beses nang ni-reject at tinanggihan ng gobyerno ang ating simple ngunit kongkretong panukala para tanggalin ang VAT sa langis. Pero hindi ibig sabihin nito na titigil tayo sa pagpupursigi na maipasa ito bilang batas at mabigyan ng agad na ginhawa ang ating mga konsyumer,” he said.

“Our simple yet concrete proposal will bring immediate relief worth P4 per liter of diesel and P65 per 11-kilo tank of LPG. If the government does not want to listen to the people’s plight, then we will. We’ll work to pass this as law, and the government will have to follow,” he added.

While recognizing that many of the proposals that resulted from the Energy Summit are good, especially for the long-term, Roxas warned the government against giving any illusion that these would result in immediate relief for the people from all-time high world oil prices.

For instance, he said the counter-proposal of the government to provide a VAT refund to consumers through a “coupon system” might be too complex and thus unresponsive to Juan de la Cruz’ urgent needs.

“Do not dangle expectations of immediate relief from these convoluted and untested proposals like this proposed coupon refund system. What the people need are direct and immediate relief, not these tedious measures that may not even achieve intended results,” he told the administration.

“The proposals during the Energy Summit are good for the long term, and I would even support some of these, like the Renewable Energy bill, which I’ve long supported. But at the same time, our people need measures for immediate relief, which we seek through the suspension of the VAT on oil,” he added.

The proposal for VAT refund through a “coupon system” was floated by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her speech during the concluding rites of the Energy Summit. Said coupon system would be funded by excess revenues from the sale of Transmission Corp. and the National Power Corp., and proceeds from the Malampaya Natural Gas Project.