Executive Secretary Ralph Recto has publicly dismissed accusations from Batangas Representative Leandro Legarda Leviste that the executive branch is deliberately blocking congressional efforts to reduce or suspend the collection of value-added tax (VAT) on fuel and consumer goods.
Responding to the lawmaker’s claims on Monday, Recto emphasized that the legislative branch operates independently and that the Cabinet cannot prevent lawmakers from fulfilling their mandate.
“No one person can block Congress from enacting a law. Stop blaming others and just do your job,” Recto said in a message to the media.
The exchange follows statements made by Leviste outside the Batasang Pambansa complex, where he accompanied protesters demanding immediate relief from the ongoing fuel price crisis. Leviste accused Recto of using his influence within the Cabinet to prevent a House vote on critical economic measures, citing a position paper Recto previously submitted during his tenure as Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary.
According to Leviste, the DOF position paper explicitly warned against the massive revenue losses that would result from a VAT reduction.
“Many economic measures before the House have not been approved because the Cabinet opposed it under the leadership of Secretary Ralph Recto. I was told explicitly: ‘The reason why VAT isn’t cut down is that Executive Secretary Ralph Recto is against it,’” Leviste stated.
Leviste is the principal author of two key tax relief proposals: House Bill No. 4302, which seeks to revert the standard VAT rate on goods and services from 12 percent back to 10 percent, and House Bill No. 8838, which proposes a complete suspension of VAT collections on petroleum products.
The Fiscal Defense
Recto, who authored the original legislation that raised the country’s VAT rate from 10 percent to 12 percent, has consistently defended the higher tax rate as a fiscal necessity.
Addressing calls to lower the VAT earlier this year, Recto cautioned that the government relies heavily on the resulting tax revenues. He pointed out that the national government is currently projected to borrow ₱1.6 trillion to fund its budgetary requirements, and that reducing the VAT rate could jeopardize the country’s fiscal stability and risk a credit rating downgrade.
Calls for Further Relief
The push to reduce VAT comes shortly after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed a bill on March 25, 2026, granting the executive the authority to suspend the collection of specific excise taxes on fuel—amounting to ₱10 per liter for gasoline and ₱6 per liter for diesel.
However, Leviste argued that suspending the excise tax alone is insufficient for consumers bearing the brunt of the highest fuel prices in the region, pressing the government to act urgently on the VAT suspension to provide broader economic relief.
This article is published on BitPinas: Recto to Leviste on Delayed VAT Cuts: ‘Stop Blaming Others, Just Do Your Job’
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