Malacañang said that with the surge in the price of oil, the Philippines may seek the option of getting oil from countries which are not members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) like the United States and Russia. (CAMILLE ANTE / MANILA BULLETIN) Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, in a press briefing in Marawi City, said that some members of the government reported that oil from these non-OPEC members (US and Russia) are cheaper. “Pagdating naman po sa mga petrolyo, gumagawa naman po ng hakbang. Lahat po yan ay ini-explore natin pero intindihin din po natin na wala sa ating kamay itong pagtaas ng presyo ng langis. (When it comes to petroleum, the government is taking steps to address the issue. We are exploring all options but we must understand that the price of oil is out of our hands),” Roque said Thursday morning. “In fact, kahapon lang po kausap ko ang mga taong gobyerno, may posibilidad na titignan natin kung pwede tayong mag-angkat ng mas murang langis doon sa mga non-OPEC members kagaya po ng Russia, at pati na rin po ang Estados Unidos (yesterday I spoke with some government people, there’s a possibility of exploring the option of getting oil from non-OPEC members like Russia and the United States),” he added. “China right now is getting their oil from America’s stockpile. So we will see if we can do the same steps,” he said in Filipino. Don’t take advantage of TRAIN Meanwhile, Roque appealed to the public, especially to traders, to not take advantage of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, especially following the increase in the price of oil in the world market. He said that it is unfortunate that some people are taking advantage of the TRAIN when there are a lot of people who benefit from it. “It’s clear that the people have benefited from the TRAIN because of the lower tax that they have to pay),” he said in Filipino. “Marami rin po, unfortunately, na kababayan natin na sinasamantala itong TRAIN, 'yung pagtaas ng langis, para magtaas din ng presyo ng iba’t ibang mga bilihin (Unfortunately, there are a lot of our people who take advantage of the TRAIN, and the oil price hike, to increase the price of the different commodities),” he added. Poor takes the hit Senator Paolo “Bam” Aquino IV said the government should expedite looking for ways to lower the prices of goods and services as more Filipinos are now heavily burdened by the high prices due to the TRAIN law. In the House of Representatives, a congressman has tagged the power rate hike and price increases attributed to the implementation of the TRAIN law as a “deadly combination.” “Filipinos demand solutions, not excuses for high prices,” Aquino said, citing severe price increases with no efficient cash transfer program to poor families as a signal to government to suspend the TRAIN law. “Nalulunod na po ang mga mahihirap nating kababayan sa patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng bilihin (Our poor countrymen are drowning amid the continued rise in the prices of goods). The price of electricity, of rice and even our jeepney drivers, operators — even the LRT fares — are increasing. That’s why a lot of our fellowmen are complaining,” Aquino said. In the Lower Chamber, Bayan Muna Party-List Rep. Carlos Zarate bewailed the additional P1.55 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) rate hike from Manila Electric Company (Meralco) and the various price increases triggered by the TRAIN law. “Definitely, it’s a deadly combination to common Filipinos kapag inapprove ito ng ERC (if the Energy Regulatory Commission approves it),” Zarate said yesterday following the Makabayan bloc’s press conference. Solutions in order Instead of making excuses, the government must find solutions to alleviate the negative effects of the tax reform program, he said. Aquino said he cannot accept Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia’s recent pronouncement that Filipinos should just tighten their belts and live with the effects of the tax reform law. “The problem is that the government has not given its promise of financial assistance for the six million poor families which is a provision under the TRAIN law. So this is enough grounds to suspend the law,” he said. Aquino has already filed Senate Bill No. 1798 which calls for the automatic suspension of excise tax on fuel under TRAIN when the average inflation rate surpasses the annual inflation target over a three-month period. “Under this bill, when inflation exceeds the target range for three consecutive months, the excise tax on fuel will be rolled back,” he said. He pointed out that this was successfully included in the Senate version of the TRAIN when Congress was deliberating the measure, but this safeguard was removed from the final draft of the law during the bicameral conference committee hearings. Tax-freeze provision Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto said the TRAIN law has a tax-freeze provision which shall kick in when the benchmark price of crude oil reaches $80 a barrel. Recto said the TRAIN law (RA 10963) explicitly provides for this “price triggered collection moratorium” which was reiterated in Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Revenue Regulations No. 2-2018, the law’s Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) on petroleum products pursuant to RA 10963. “The tripwire is $80 per barrel, based on Dubai crude as reflected in MOPS,” Recto said. The price of crude oil in the international market is now approaching $80 per barrel. ‘Leave it to the experts’ Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III, on the other hand, said he is leaving proposals to roll back excise taxes to economic experts. “They are the ones who can see the figures,” he said. Sotto also said that he talked to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez last Wednesday on the excise tax issue. He said Dominguez explained to him that there are the many benefits given by the TRAIN law outweigh the price increase of consumer products brought about by the increase of the global price of crude oil. Power hikes Earlier, Zarate filed House Resolution (HR) No.566, which tasked the House to look into the filing of seven “questionable” power supply agreements (PSAs) before the Commission. Both Meralco and ERC officials have attended these inquiries. The PSAs, which include deals on the construction of coal-fired power plants, are connected to the following generation companies: Redondo Peninsula Energy Incorporated (for a 225-megawatt); Atimonan One Energy Incorporated (1,200 MW); St. Raphael power Generation Corporation (400 MW); Central Luzon Premiere Power Corporation (528 MW); Mariveles Power Generation Corporation (528 MW); Panay Energy Development Corporation (70 MW); Global Luzon Energy Development Corporation (600 MW). The militant solon said these are Meralco’s own sister companies, subsidiaries and affiliates. According to him, the continued hike in coal prices and the sharp depreciation of the peso against the dollar, among others, will be factors behind the expected increase in these Meralco contracts. “Due to the high price of coal and the peso’s weakening, average generation charge under the seven PSAs will cost us Meralco customers P5.22 per kWh. This is P1.55 per kWh more than what Meralco wanted us to believe in the PSA applications and in its earlier House presentation,” Zarate said. “The P5.22 rate is onerous and unconscionable considering that some non-Meralco-affiliated power generation companies now offer electricity way below P5 per kWh. Some even offer electricity at P2 per kWh,” he pointed out. The seven PSA applications were earlier submitted to a joint House panel that looked into the contentious contracts. Based on these applications, the cost of electricity generation would supposedly only average P3.67 per kWh. Going further, Zarate said the P1.55 per kWh additional hike will cost millions of Meralco customers P54.54 billion in additional charges annually. This means that these customers will shoulder P930 billion in additional power rate expenses within the 20-to-21-year duration of the long-term power supply deals. (With reports from Hannah L. Torregoza, Mario B. Casayuran, and Ellson A. Quismorio)