At 4 AM, a nation should be sleeping, but instead, Filipinos are lining up in the dark just to bleed at the pump. While we count every single centavo to see if we can afford the ₱172.90 per liter it takes to survive another day, our leaders are sleeping soundly, completely sheltered from the crisis they refuse to solve.
For six weeks, Filipinos have watched the numbers on gas station pylons tick upwards like a cruel countdown. Diesel—the lifeblood of our public transport and agricultural supply chains—has skyrocketed from a manageable ₱55 to an eye-watering ₱172.90 per liter since February 28. In response to this unprecedented crisis, 375 gas stations have already temporarily closed nationwide according to the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Yet, the mountain labored and brought forth a mouse. The Marcos administration’s recent declaration to suspend taxes strictly on LPG and kerosene is not just a frustrating half-measure. It is definitely a profound insult to a nation bleeding and gasping at the pump.
While any financial relief is welcome these days, I find this response deeply detached from the harsh reality ordinary Filipinos are facing. By refusing to suspend the excise tax and Value-Added Tax (VAT) on diesel and gasoline, our leaders are ignoring the very fuel that keeps our entire economy moving. The real crisis is on the streets and in the wet markets. A minor discount on cooking gas simply exposes a glaring disconnect between the ruling elite and the daily suffering of ordinary Filipinos.
Jeepney drivers are losing money on every single route, and fishermen in Mindanao cannot even afford to take their boats out to sea. The evidence of this catastrophic failure in leadership is even more glaring when we look across our borders.
While our officials sat in air-conditioned rooms calling for “further study,” our Southeast Asian neighbors moved with life-saving urgency. Vietnam slashed all fuel taxes to zero within 24 hours. Thailand froze diesel prices on day one, spending about THB2.4 billion to protect its consumers. Malaysia, Indonesia, and South Korea immediately rolled out massive subsidies or price caps. Meanwhile, our answer is a meager ₱37 savings on a tank of LPG and a hollow promise to “discuss it tomorrow.”
Of course, economic managers and government defenders are quick to justify this limited action. They argue that completely suspending the excise tax and VAT on diesel and gasoline would be fiscal suicide. They contend that stripping away these massive revenue streams would deplete the national treasury, stalling critical infrastructure projects and jeopardizing public services. They insist that distributing targeted fuel subsidies directly to transport workers is a much safer and more efficient way to help the poor without completely crippling the national budget.
I find that defense incredibly hard to accept. The government cannot plead poverty to a starving workforce when, for years, it has collected billions in fuel taxes—only for those funds to be repeatedly flagged in Commission on Audit (COA) reports. The promised “targeted subsidies” are a notorious band-aid solution, historically plagued by red tape, delays, and localized corruption. It is an insult to ask the public to accept high taxes for public services, when taxpayer money is routinely exposed as being funneled to ghost names like “Mary Grace Piattos.”
Our government has the money; they simply just refuse to spend it on the people. As we endure this crisis, the public must awaken to the reality of where their hard-earned taxes go. Filipinos deserve more than spare change and empty promises after weeks of suffering. We deserve a government that moves like our lives depend on it—because right now, they do.
We can no longer afford to be gaslighted by a government running on empty excuses. They have fueled our frustration and taxed our tolerance for FAR TOO LONG. They expect us to just absorb the shock, while they steer the state into a ditch. Come election day, we must trade this crude corruption for concrete change and leave this exhausting engine of greed in the dust.|
