Prices of goods are expected to increase once the Confederation of Truckers Association of the Philippines implemented a 30-percent increase in trucking freight rates on skyrocketing fuel prices.
Maria Zapata, president of CTAP, said the group’s members would implement a 30-percent increase in their respective truck rates to enable them to provide an exceptional and quality service to customers.
“We hope you understand that due to the uncontrollable spiraling increase of fuel prices in our country, our members have been absorbing the burden of the weekly increase of fuel prices,” she said.
“For the record, diesel price [per liter] in January 2021 was P31 [more or less] compared to the current P70 [more or less] as of March 8, 2022 with P39 price difference,” Zapata said.
She said given this, members of CTAP might renegotiate for another truck rate increase as the oil price hikes continue.
Data showed that in March, gasoline prices went up by P11.90 per liter and diesel prices shot up by P19.80 per liter, reflecting the volatility of oil prices in the world market.
CTAP transports 20-footer containers from Manila International Container Terminal and South Harbor to select points in Metro Manila and northern and southern Luzon.
There were proposals to suspend the excise tax on fuel as a way to reduce the impact on consumers of spiraling oil prices in the world market, but this was rejected by the Department of Finance which said the move would only set back the Philippines’ economic recovery from the pandemic and would instead end up subsidizing the expenses of affluent families more than those of low-income households.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the suspension of fuel excise taxes would lead to a massive revenue loss of P105.9 billion, or about a half-percent of the country’s gross domestic product this year.
He said the depletion in revenues would imperil the government’s strong fiscal position and further widen the budget deficit.