A senator is calling for immediate executive execution of enacted tax relief and structural budget transparency to shield households from severe economic hardship, as Filipino families weather double-digit pressure from a depreciating Philippine peso hitting P64.50 against the U.S. dollar, high inflation and unstable fuel crisis.
Senator Bam Aquino emphasized that while overseas remittances offer temporary holiday relief, households will feel the full weight once the new year begins.
He pointed out that Congress already passed legislation granting executive power to suspend fuel excise taxes when world crude oil reaches $80 per barrel. He urged the executive branch to immediately enforce this power for diesel and gasoline to stop the domino effect on food, logistics and daily transport costs.
“Ang ginawa po ng executive, tinanggal yung excise tax sa LPG. Hindi naman tinanggal sa diesel at sa gasolina. Eh alam naman natin yung diesel at gasolina, yun yung mas may malaking epekto sa ating mga kababayan. Alam naman natin kapag mataas ang presyo ng petrolyo, tumataas ang lahat ng presyo ng lahat. Tanggalin na muna yung excise tax habang mataas ang presyo. Ito po, nasa kapangyarihan na po ng ehekutibo, ng presidente, na tanggalin ang excise tax. Gawa po ng batas na pinasa po namin. And yun naman po pinasa namin dahil nirequest yon kami ng executive, Kumbaga po, ikaw nagrequest ka sa akin, binigay ko sa’yo, wala ka naman ginawa doon sa akin, nirequest mo. isa ito sa mga batas na naipasa ng senado at kongreso, ang naghikayat rin po niyan yung ehekutibo, nung naiibigay na yung kapangyarihan, di naman tinuloy. Ngayon po, tumasa naman,” he explained.
Aquino also proposed suspending the 12% Value-Added Tax (VAT) specifically for residential electricity consumers, ensuring direct relief for households without subsidizing large commercial entities.
“Ang tanggalin dapat, hindi lang yung VAT ng systems loss… pati yung VAT mismo ng electricity bill natin. Yun po, 12% ng kabuuan ng bill. Ramdam niya yan… Sa isang taon, para kang nakalibre ng isang buwan,” he added.
In response to concerns regarding potential revenue loss to the national treasury from tax exemptions, he insisted that fiscal discipline and curbing corruption must offset any temporary revenue adjustments, ensuring public money yields classrooms and healthcare rather than wasteful leakages.
“Sa panahon ngayon na kaliwa’t kanan yung mga iskandalo, kaliwa’t kanan yung mga naririnig nating nakawan, siguro po isabay natin yan. Habang tinitigil po natin yung korupsyon… meron din tayong maibibigay sa tao.Pwede siyang maging dagdag serbisyo gaya ng dagdag na classroom, dagdag na pondo para sa kalusugan. Pwede rin siyang bawas sa kinukuha sa taong bayan: Bawas buwis, bawas bwisit,” he said.
To ensure long-term accountability, Aquino pushed for the implementation of the CADENA Law(Blockchain the Budget), an initiative leveraging distributed ledger tech to make government procurement and allocation fully trackable in real-time.
“Hindi nila babawasan yan [corruption] ng kusa. Kasi yung magnanakaw, magnanakaw at magnanakaw talaga. Kailangan tayong gumawa ng sistema na kung saan mas mahirap o di kaya talagang imposible nang magnakaw.Ito po… blockchain the budget or CADENA Law, na ang pera ng bayan, nakakadena, talaga protektadong-protektado,” Aquino stressed.
As Congress convenes the Bicameral Conference Committee to reconcile the proposed 2027 National Budget, Senator Aquino highlighted the urgency of aligning state expenditure directly with public welfare.
With total budget allocations coming under strict scrutiny, Aquino warned against bloated unprogrammed funds and pork-barrel insertions, urging budget leaders to prioritize immediate relief mechanisms for everyday citizens suffering from compounding economic shocks over questionable allocations.
“Yung pera ng bayan dapat alam ng tao kung saan napupunta. Number two, hindi dapat yan napupunta sa mga alanganing proyekto, mga proyektong baka manakaw lang. Number three, mailagay siya sa mga totoong prioridad ng bansa,” he said.
