Philippine economic managers have rejected calls to suspend excise taxes on petroleum products, instead pitching for more subsidies to affected sectors and a shorter working week to cut costs.
The government is expecting to collect 131.4 billion pesos ($2.5bn) this year from excise taxes on fuel, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said on Wednesday.
Yielding to some politicians and transport groups’ call to suspend the levy would cut this year’s revenue by 0.5 per cent of gross domestic product, he said.
Instead, Economic Planning Secretary Karl Chua pitched for more direct aid to affected sectors — including the poorest 50 per cent of households.
He also proposed a four-day working week to reduce costs for businesses and workers, a measure introduced in past oil shocks. A three-month wage subsidy has also been proposed by the country's Department of Labour and Employment.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has fanned oil prices, sending shock waves around the global economy, particularly affecting nations, including the Philippines, that import most of their fuel requirements.
However, the commodity’s rise retreated as attention turned to possible reduced demand, amid a Covid-19 flare up in China.
Suspending excise tax on fuel will increase this year's deficit to 8.2 per cent of GDP from a projected 7.7 per cent and the debt ratio to 61.4 per cent of GDP from a 60.9 per cent estimate, Mr Dominguez said.
Increasing jeepney — Philippine buses — fares by 1.25 pesos will add 0.4 percentage point to inflation, while a 39 pesos hike in the capital region's daily minimum wage will add 1 percentage point, Mr Chua said.
Meanwhile, the labour department of is seeking approval of a 24bn peso wage subsidy that may run for three months to benefit one million workers, assistant secretary Dominique Tutay said.
Another key area touched upon in the briefing included a government plan to collect as much as 26bn peso in additional value added tax, should Dubai crude average $110 per barrel.
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Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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7 — Michael Schumacher (1994, ’95, 2000, ’01 ’02, ’03, ’04)
7 — Lewis Hamilton (2008, ’14,’15, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20)
5 — Juan Manuel Fangio (1951, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57)
4 — Alain Prost (1985, ’86, ’89, ’93)
4 — Sebastian Vettel (2010, ’11, ’12, ’13)
