MANILA - Malacanang will leave it up to the administration of President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to decide on calls to suspend the excise tax on oil products to address the soaring cost of fuel. "Hahayaan natin sa susunod na administrasyon ang desisyon tungkol sa panawagang ito (We will leave it up to the next administration to decide on these calls)," acting presidential spokesperson and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in a Palace press briefing Tuesday. Andanar said President Rodrigo Duterte has not changed his mind about rejecting proposals to suspend the excise tax on fuel products. "Hindi naman po nagbabago ang posisyon ng Pangulo noong Marso sa ngayon (The President has not changed his mind about his position since last March)," he said. In March, Duterte instead approved the recommendation of the Department of Finance to provide direct aid to the most vulnerable sectors, allocating PHP33 billion for unconditional cash trans
Amid continued soaring of fuel prices, Malacañang on Monday appealed to public utility jeepney (PUJ) drivers and operators not to push through with their plan to suspend nationwide jeepney operations this week. “We appeal to jeep drivers and operators not to push through with their plan to suspend operations this…
(File photo) MANILA - Amid continued soaring of fuel prices, Malacanang on Monday appealed to public utility jeepney (PUJ) drivers and operators not to push through with their plan to suspend nationwide jeepney operations this week. "Nanawagan kami sa mga tsuper at mga operator ng mga jeep na huwag ituloy ang kanilang planong tigil pasada ngayon linggo (We appeal to jeep drivers and operators not to push through with their plan to suspend operations this week)," Acting presidential spokesperson and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in a press statement. Andanar assured that the government is doing everything it can to cushion the impact of the rising fuel prices caused by tight supply in the global oil market. He touted continuous efforts to roll out the Department of Transportation's fuel subsidy for beneficiaries. "Nasa mahigit 180,000 public utility vehicle operators ang nabigyan na ng fuel subsidy, as of June 1, 2022, ayon sa Land Transportation Franch
MANILA - The outgoing Duterte administration is still looking for ways to address the country's PHP12-trillion debt, Malacanang said Thursday. "Reducing the country's debt remains a priority," acting Presidential Spokesperson and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in a press statement. President Rodrigo Duterte's economic team, Andanar said, has proposed a fiscal consolidation and resource mobilization plan to pay off the country's huge debt. Andanar said the proposal contains "fair, efficient, and corrective tax measures." "These include the expansion of value added tax (VAT) base by removing ineffective VAT exemptions except for some sectors, among others, to generate revenues," he said. Andanar, however, acknowledged that the outgoing economic managers' recommendations are "subject to the consideration of the next Administration." The national government's outstanding debt rose to a new high of PHP12.68 trilli
As the country’s debt stock continued to rise in April, Malacañang said Thursday that reducing the Philippine debt remains the government's priority. In fact, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said, the Duterte administration’s economic team already “proposed a fiscal consolidation and resour