The P100+ Diesel: When the government runs out of excuses
The “unthinkable” has arrived at Filipino gas stations. Diesel prices have officially breached the P100-per-liter mark, with some Metro Manila stations reporting figures as high as P172.9 per liter as of yesterday. As the United States-Israeli conflict with Iran paralyzes the Strait of Hormuz—the artery for a fifth of the world’s oil—Filipino consumers are being forced to bleed in an economic war and a crisis they did not create.
The Department of Finance (DOF) has responded to calls for fuel excise tax suspension with a singular, chilling figure: P136 billion. This, they claim, is the revenue the state would “lose” if it dared to lower the P6-per-liter tax on diesel and P10-per-liter on gasoline. But as inflation threatens to spiral toward 7.5 percent, we must ask: In a time of national emergency, whose “fiscal health” matters more—the government’s bloated accounts or the Filipino family’s ability to put food on the table?
The DOF’s obsession with the P136 billion “loss” is an insult when viewed against the backdrop of systemic waste. While the government claims it cannot afford a tax cut, the Commission on Audit (COA) has been busy unearthing the real leaks.
Just last month, COA filed fraud reports involving over P300 million in “ghost” flood control projects in Bulacan—projects fully paid and declared “100 percent complete” that literally do not exist on the ground. If the government can afford to lose billions to contractors for nonexistent roads and bridges, it can certainly afford to “lose” revenue by leaving that money in the pockets of its citizens.
Furthermore, the 2026 budget is heavy with P151 billion in “unprogrammed” funds and billions more for “consultants,” “study tours,” and “confidential funds.” These are not necessities; they are administrative luxuries. If the DOF is truly worried about the deficit, the solution is not to squeeze the driver and the farmer, but to excise the “ghosts” from the DPWH and the “slush” from the unprogrammed funds. If the government can afford to lose billions to inefficiency and corruption, it can certainly afford to “lose” P136 billion by letting it stay in the pockets of the people.
The House of Representatives has passed House Bill No. 8418, granting the President the power to suspend fuel excise taxes during emergencies. This is a welcome, if belated, tool. But a tool is useless if the workman is too afraid of a balance sheet to use it.
The government must move beyond its habitual “adhocism”—reacting only when the crisis is already a catastrophe. We need a “War Footing” economy that includes:
1. Immediate tax suspension: Using the new powers under HB 8418 to provide a P6-P10 relief at the pump today.
2. Mandatory belt-tightening: An executive moratorium on all nonessential government travel, luxury vehicle purchases, and consultancy contracts.
3. Value-added tax (VAT) transparency: A full accounting of the VAT windfall from P100/liter fuel, with every centavo diverted into doubled fuel vouchers for the transport and agriculture sectors.
The DOF treats the national budget like a sacred hoard. But the budget is a tool for the people’s welfare, not an end in itself. If the state refuses to sacrifice its own comforts while the people’s belts are being tightened into a noose, it is not leading—it is merely watching. At more than P100 per liter, the time for “monitoring” and “staggering” adjustments is over, we are told that the government must “tighten its belt.” But the government’s belt is made of leather, while the citizen’s belt is a noose. If the state wants to prevent runaway inflation and social unrest, it must be the first to sacrifice its “fiscal comforts” for the sake of national survival.
JAMES D. LANSANG,
jeemsdee@yahoo.com
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