PHOENIX Petroleum Philippines Inc., the first independent oil company listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange after the Oil Deregulation Law, plans to voluntarily pre-pay excise taxes due for its gasoline and petroleum-based product sales in 2017 to show support to the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program of the government.
The Finance Department said in a statement over the weekend the move was the first time that an oil company had volunteered to pay its taxes in advance to demonstrate its support for a government program.
Phoenix Petroleum president and chief executive officer Dennis Uy said the company’s move was a gesture of its “commitment to responsible and participatory governance and to the welfare of the Filipino people.”
“Yes, we are a business in the private sector, but we are also Filipino citizens… It is not enough to simply fulfill the responsibilities of a corporate citizen; we must go beyond,” Uy said in a statement furnished the Finance Department.
“After all, it’s also in our interest to maximize the government’s financial flexibility and spending capacity, because it will help them provide the necessary services to the Filipino people, expand the Philippine economy, and foster a more empowered consumer base,” he said.
Uy stressed the sustainability of the pre-payment process.
“We paved a pathway that allows us to help the government without having to raise prices for consumers, or risk the return on investment for our shareholders. This is a win-win situation, and the benefits will be felt by all,” he said.
Uy encouraged other companies in the private sector to find their own ways to contribute to the process of nation -building. “We hope other corporate citizens will consider the same action,” he said.
“We aren’t trying to tell others what to do, but we hope those in our industry and in other industries will consider doing something similar,” Uy said.