In a Senate hearing on Thursday, March 26, the Department of Finance (DOF) expressed hesitation about proposals to remove the VAT. DOF Undersecretary Karlo Adriano said that exempting fuel products from VAT may have counterproductive results. He explained that VAT applies to both input and output, so removing VAT at the output level while retaining it at the input level may pass the costs down to consumers. For example, if fuel products are at P100 per liter now, the next increase could be reduced by P12. Executives from major petroleum companies agreed, favoring the removal of VAT on fuel products.

Source: Philippine Star March 26, 2026 14:46 UTC