MARCOS GOVERNS FROM NEW YORK: FUEL TAX BILL FAST-TRACKED, ZALDY CO LOCATED IN PORTUGAL, AND A PRESIDENT TRYING TO REASSURE A COUNTRY RUNNING ON FUMES

The president is 8,500 miles from Manila, sitting in a hotel in Midtown Manhattan, and from that room he is trying to manage the worst economic crisis the Philippines has faced in decades.

On Tuesday, from The Pierre hotel in New York, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. made three separate announcements that together form a picture of a government scrambling to respond to the fallout from the Iran war.

First, the fuel excise bill. Second, Zaldy Co. Third, oil supply.

Each one deserves a closer look.

THE BILL

The House Committee on Ways and Means approved an unnumbered substitute bill on Tuesday that would give the president power to suspend or reduce excise taxes on fuel products.

The bill consolidates 15 separate proposals. Committee chair Miro Quimbo (Marikina, 2nd District) pushed it through after consulting with officials from the Department of Finance, the Department of Energy, and oil companies.

The trigger: if the average price of Dubai crude oil reaches or exceeds $80 per barrel for at least one month, based on the Mean of Platts Singapore benchmark, the president can act. A declared national emergency or calamity that drives up domestic fuel prices would also qualify.

That suspension could cover specific petroleum products or all fuel types. Full suspension or partial reduction. Maximum of six months, extendable by Congress through a joint resolution up to one calendar year.

When it ends, excise tax rates snap back automatically. The authority expires December 31, 2028.

If enacted, the bill would remove the P10 per liter excise tax on gasoline and the P6 per liter levy on diesel.

Marcos said from New York that he intends to certify the bill as urgent once committee reports from both chambers are finalized. That certification would let Congress skip the requirement for separate bill readings on different days.

In the Senate, parallel bills have been filed. Senator Francis Pangilinan introduced SB 1940 on Monday, and Senator Francis Escudero filed SB 1938, which includes a flexibility clause allowing the president to cut oil taxes even before the $80 barrel threshold is reached during extraordinary supply disruptions.

The Department of Finance has warned that suspending the excise tax could cost the government P136 billion in lost revenue in 2026 alone. Of that, P121.4 billion would come from reduced excise collections, with an additional P14.6 billion from lower value-added tax receipts.

ZALDY CO

Marcos confirmed on Tuesday that former congressman Elizaldy "Zaldy" Co is in Portugal.

Co is a central figure in the flood control corruption scandal, one of the largest graft cases currently before the Sandiganbayan. The NBI has previously identified up to 38 individuals who may testify as alleged bagmen in the scheme. The Sandiganbayan recently denied Co's petition to avoid being declared a fugitive, and his Philippine passport has been canceled.

"You cannot bring him home because that is not how the system functions," Marcos told reporters at The Pierre hotel. "We must seek the assistance of the nation he is in, which is currently Portugal."

He said the government has filed a request for a Red Notice with Interpol to track Co's movements and that Philippine authorities are coordinating with Portuguese officials.

"You do not send your police to another country and pick him up because our police do not have jurisdiction in other nations," Marcos explained. Reports indicate Co may have obtained a Portuguese passport, which would complicate extradition efforts.

THE OIL QUESTION

On the third front, Marcos attempted to reassure the public that the Philippines has enough fuel.

He said the country still holds sufficient petroleum reserves and that incoming shipments are not routed through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed since the war began on February 28.

"We are exploring various locations that can provide us with supply," he said, adding that the Philippines is in discussions with countries from which it typically does not purchase oil.

The reassurance comes as diesel is projected to reach P80 per liter or higher. The peso plunged to an intraday record low of P59.50 on Monday. The PSEi dropped nearly 5 percent. Shipping lines across the Visayas have cut routes and raised fares.

Whether the president's words from a hotel suite in Manhattan will be enough to calm a country watching prices climb at the pump every day is an open question. The bill still needs plenary approval and Senate passage. The Zaldy Co process will take months, possibly years. And the oil supply assurances are only as good as the war is short.