The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the voice of Philippine business today expressed its support to give President Marcos emergency powers to implement measures that will absorb and stabilize prices amid looming fuel increases brought about by the escalating tensions in the Middle East.

“We support whatever means – whether reducing excise tax, VAT, or tapping other funding sources – because we are in a crisis. If the market cannot absorb these pending price increases, hindi tatakbo ang economy,” PCCI President Perry Ferrer said in an interview.

He said that the fuel increases would immediately impact on logistics, transportation, and overall cost of goods.

“We are shocked when we hear P17-20 pesos or more increase in fuel transportation costs. Pagnagtaas ang fuel, the cost of moving goods increases immediately, and so do the prices of transporting goods,” he added.

Ferrer said that private sector is appealing to government to temporarily absorb or mitigate the impact of fuel hikes to stabilize prices.

“Our request to government is to absorb temporarily the fuel price increases. Hopefully, mabigyan ng authority ang Presidente to exercise and use other means that will help cushion potential shocks this week or next week,” Ferrer stressed, adding that there should also be a balance in implementing the measure.

The PCCI Chief also noted that the government should reach out to its neighboring countries in Asia – Singapore, Malaysia, and South Korea- where most of our refined fuel products are sourced, ensuring sufficient supply to stabilize prices in the coming weeks.

Furthermore, Ferrer stressed that the private sector has already begun implementing cost-saving measures, including carpooling, work-from-home arrangements, adjusting air-conditioning settings, bulk purchasing, and investing in renewable energy such as solar.

“We certainly need to put temporary measures in place immediately to minimize impact of fuel hikes,” he said.