Solon seeks eVAT exemption on petroleum products to ease Mindanao power crisis

MANILA, Philippines – A lawmaker filed on Tuesday a bill that sought to address the power crisis in Mindanao by exempting the sale and importation of petroleum products for power barges from the expanded Value Added Tax (eVAT).

A fisherman passes by Holcim compound where the Power Barge 104 is anchored (Barangay Ilang, Davao City, Davao Gulf area). It is a barge supplying electricity to Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC), which distributes electricity to other provinces in Mindanao. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

In a statement, Muntinlupa City Representative Rodolfo Biazon said that House Bill No. 6082 sought to “ease the predicament of the people in Mindanao” by lowering the cost of electricity through exemption from eVAT.

He pointed out that the cost of resolving the power crisis through the deployment of more power barges was high not only because of the steep prices of petroleum products in the world market but also because of the eVAT.

Biazon added that this burden was being passed by those producing power on to consumers through increases in the price of electricity.

“This further strains the already limited budget for the people of Mindanao.”