MANILA, Philippines—The government expects more revenue from the value-added tax (VAT) on oil imports than expected because of the unabated increase in oil prices, an official said.

The Department of Finance earlier estimated that the government would collect about P18.6 billion more from the 12 percent VAT on oil this year, assuming oil prices would settle at $114 a barrel.

Oil reached a record of more than $145 a barrel on Thursday.

The additional VAT revenues this year would be used largely to fund pro-poor programs, Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said.

“The focus of the government’s pump-priming programs is the poor,” Beltran said. “Yes, most of the incremental revenues from VAT on oil will be used to provide assistance to their sector.”

Informed about Philippine oil companies’ plan to make yet another round of price hikes this week, Beltran said the government might be forced to do more subsidy programs immediately.

Oil companies are expected to raise the price of diesel by P7 a liter, most likely on a staggered basis, in the coming weeks.

They have raised prices 17 times since the start of the year.

Earlier, Malacañang ordered a one-time distribution of P500 worth of electricity subsidy to each household that uses 100 kilowatt-hours or less electricity a month.

Proposed is a subsidy of P2 per liter to operators/drivers of public utility vehicles.

Meanwhile, the World Bank said it was willing to lend as much as $100 million to the Philippine government to fund a proposed Conditional Cash Transfer program.

Under the program, the government will provide education and health allowance to selected poor households provided that children are sent to school and family members regularly visit health centers for medical checkups.

The government is expected to decide soon on the proposed implementation of the educational and health subsidies. Edited by INQUIRER.net