According to Malacañang, the Department of Energy is preparing to formally request Congress to grant the President Marcos special powers to reduce excise tax on fuel products.

An oil tanker fills up a gas station in Payatas, Quezon City on March 7, 2026. Photo by Michael Varcas, The Philippine STAR

The Senate and the House of Representatives are closely coordinating with Malacañang over ways to expedite the passage of a measure suspending the excise tax on fuel amid the escalating Middle East crisis.

“Since this weekend, we have been in constant coordination with the Office of the Executive Secretary regarding the bills needed to suspend the implementation of excise tax on fuel and the bill allowing the importation of biofuel to address the effects of the surge in fuel prices,” Senate President Vicente Sotto III said on Monday, March 9.

The Senate will also discuss President Marcos’ call to be given special power to suspend or reduce the fuel excise tax.

“We’ll prepare for it. We in the Senate, whatever help we can offer to the executive department, we will do our best,” Sotto said.

Speaker Faustino Dy III, for his part, also revealed discussions with the executive department regarding emergency powers for Marcos.

“We recognize that this is a challenge we must face head-on, which is why the House will work with the executive to focus on measures that will help cushion the effects of rising oil prices on the various sectors of our economy – especially our workers, commuters, farmers and small businesses,” Dy said.

In New York last Sunday, March 8, Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro told the Philippine media covering President Marcos’ working visit that the Department of Energy (DOE) is preparing to formally request Congress to grant the President special powers to reduce excise tax on fuel products.

Sotto, meanwhile, also raised alarm over reports that some gas stations are already jacking up prices of fuel to take advantage of the crisis.

“Authorities should look into these players who are abusing it already,” Sotto said.

Castro also said the DOE has issued show-cause orders to 54 gasoline stations following reports of premature fuel price hikes.

Castro warned companies engaged in “fraudulent acts” may lose their business permits or face charges.

The bills on fuel excise tax suspension would be forwarded to the Senate ways and means, finance and energy committees for a hearing beginning tomorrow.

Dy, who represents the sixth district of Isabela, said the conflict in the Middle East has shown how developments abroad can directly affect the Philippines.

He said it is only natural for people to feel fear and concern when oil prices rise, as this drives up transportation fares, as well as the costs of food and other basic necessities. “We will bear the brunt of all these – workers, parents working to feed their families and every Filipino trying to make a decent living,” he said.

Despite these challenges, Dy assured the public that Congress remains committed to safeguarding the welfare of Filipinos. He said the House will focus on policies that strengthen the economy and protect the livelihoods of ordinary Filipinos.

“We will focus our efforts on laws and regulations that will further strengthen our economy, protect our livelihoods and give relief, most especially to our heavily burdened kababayans, particularly those who have been caught in the crossfire and are now in harm’s way,” he said.

“We have confronted challenging moments before and each time the strength and unity of the Filipino people have carried us through,” he added.

Dy assured the public that government institutions will continue working to protect Filipinos and guide the country through global challenges.

Fast track hearings

The House ways and means committee vowed to expedite deliberations on proposals to suspend the collection of excise taxes on fuel.

“We have to fast-track this. We’re waiting for the presidential certification so we can actually approve it as soon as possible,” committee chairman Rep. Miro Quimbo said, referring to Marcos’ request.

The panel will deliberate on the request at a full hearing tomorrow, March 11. The Quimbo panel was briefed on Monday by officials of key government agencies on the economic, fiscal and supply implications of rising petroleum prices as hostilities in the Middle East continue.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, at a press conference, said she is pushing for the immediate passage of a P52.8-billion emergency supplemental budget to shield the country’s most vulnerable sectors from the economic shockwaves of the Middle East conflict.

Hontiveros emphasized that the government must abandon a “piecemeal” approach to the crisis, saying a competitive financial package is needed to support overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) trapped in conflict zones, as well as public transport drivers and farmers.

“Our call now is simple and not piecemeal. We need to discuss, prepare and pass an emergency supplemental budget package which, based on my office’s estimate, can reach P52.8 billion,” Hontiveros said in Filipino.

The amount is divided into P38 billion for OFW evacuation, P12 billion for fuel subsidies and P2.8 billion to support farmers and fisherfolk against soaring fertilizer and crude costs.

To fund the emergency measure, Hontiveros identified several massive government allocations that could be tapped immediately. These include P70 billion from discontinued 2025 flood control projects, P17.5 billion allocated for the Philippines’ ASEAN 2026 hosting duties and implementing a “phased obligation” or staggered release of funds for big-ticket infrastructure projects.

“It’s not true that we don’t have a source. We have, and we only need to discuss, think and act immediately,” Hontiveros stressed.

But to operationalize the funding, a supplemental budget bill must be filed and passed alongside a counterpart measure in the House of Representatives. She floated the possibility of Congress calling a special session to expedite its approval.

The senator explained that the proposed budget is calculated to cover the country’s needs for the current fiscal year.

Should the war in the Middle East drag into the next year, further funding would be negotiated during the regular budget debates.

She also urged her colleagues to seriously review proposals to temporarily halt the collection of fuel taxes, arguing that a targeted approach combined with tax relief is necessary to protect the poor.

Meanwhile, Rep. Perci Cendaña urged the Department of Transportation to offer free LRT and MRT rides on certain days to commuters to boost public transport use as the price of fuel is expected to surge in the next few days.

“If the DOTr managed to give free MRT rides to commuters last Christmas, I think they can still do it again in light of the Middle East crisis that we are now experiencing. Commuters will bear the brunt of the rise in fuel prices,” the Akbayan party-list lawmaker said.

“Somehow, if there will be free train rides, the heavy burden of daily commuters will be lightened as oil prices continue to rise in the world market,” Cendaña added, noting that one silver lining in the crisis was to prioritize public mass transportation over private car use.

“Precisely because we don’t have an efficient mass transportation system, those with resources opt to drive cars while ordinary workers have to settle for inefficient public transport options,” the opposition lawmaker said. The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, meanwhile, has renewed its call for the immediate passage of House Bill No. 6740, which seeks to abolish the 12 percent value-added tax on electricity. – With Helen Flores, Rhodina Villanueva