“The Current Crisis: Learning From COVID-19”
Business World Online reports:
“In an opinion piece addressing the economic crisis triggered by fuel price surges, Filomeno S. Sta. Ana III, coordinator of Action for Economic Reforms, argues against suspending fuel excise taxes, noting that such suspensions disproportionately benefit wealthy households while harming the poor.
“He advocates instead for maintaining and increasing revenue through taxes on ‘harmful or unhealthy consumption like tobacco, electronic cigarettes, alcohol, and sweetened beverages’ – which can ‘lead individuals to shift from purchasing harmful goods to using resources for essential goods.’ Sta. Ana emphasises evidence-based policy and collective action, drawing parallels to the COVID-19 response.”
Assessment
The backdrop is the debate over President Marcos’ Republic Act 12316, signed on March 25, granting emergency powers to suspend fuel excise taxes amid rising oil prices – a move that could cost the government P136 billion in 2026. Filomeno Sta. Ana uses this moment to make the case for pro-health taxes on alcohol. His argument: as fuel tax suspension drains revenue – and disproportionately benefits the wealthy – the government should compensate by strengthening taxes on alcohol and other harmful products, which reduce harm, generate revenue, and help reorient household spending toward essential goods.
The Philippines has a strong track record of advocacy for higher alcohol taxes and civil society has worked to establish alcohol as a recognised public health crisis. This intervention shows how pro-health taxation can be framed as fiscally rational precisely when economic arguments carry the most political weight.