(April 13): The Philippines is removing excise taxes on kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas to curb food inflation, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said Monday.
Marcos also said the government plans to lower tariffs on farm imports, cut transport costs for food products and has talked to producers to keep prices of basic goods stable until end-April.
“All of these measures are centred on the price of food, to keep the price of food down,” the president said at a televised briefing. “We were hoping for good peace talks, but it looks like they didn’t reach a deal, so we keep supporting our countrymen.”
The moves are meant to soften the impact of higher commodity prices on consumers as Philippine inflation surged to a near two-year high in March. Global crude costs have risen sharply since the US and Israeli strikes on Iran six weeks ago, with price pressures spreading to transport, food and logistics.
Oil prices surged again on Monday as the US vowed to blockade all vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz and peace talks with Iran collapsed over the weekend. The strait is the world’s most important energy chokepoint and practically all of the Philippines’ oil imports pass through that waterway.
Marcos said he’ll meet with Cabinet officials on Tuesday to discuss further ways to keep prices in check, including a possible halt in oil excise taxes. He, however, signalled that he’s against calls to suspend the value-added tax on petroleum products, as his government needs revenue to fund assistance to vulnerable sectors.
See also: Asian LNG prices set to rise as US threatens to block Hormuz
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