Senator Raffy Tulfo expressed a proposal for the exemption of economic class passengers from paying the tourist tax. In his speech, he noted that the tax should only be imposed on first and business class passengers. Raffy Tulfo suggested: "In my view, the tourist tax should only be collected from those who fly first or business class. Economic class passengers should not have to pay this tax."
On the way to the meeting, the vehicle was caught with a license plate number of a luxury car. Robert Lim, the Deputy Minister for Aviation and Airports at the Department of Transportation (DOTr), explained that the tourist tax is collected by the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) under the Department of Tourism (DOT), not DOTr. Lim also clarified that previously, attempts were made to abolish the tax and finance TIEZA through the national budget.
Currently, the full rate of the tourist tax is 2,700 PHP for first-class passengers and 1,620 PHP for economic class passengers. Lim added that TIEZA, financed from the tourist tax, supports tourism and transport projects, including airport development, which benefits the DOTr.
According to information on the TIEZA website, the tourist tax is a fee collected from individuals entering the Philippines, regardless of where the airline ticket was purchased. Part of the funds goes toward supporting educational programs of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and cultural projects of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
At that time, while Tulfo described the tax as an obstacle to travel, Lim acknowledged its outdated nature. Tulfo suggested that TIEZA could instead rely on the national budget for financing or collect tourist taxes only from first and business-class passengers.
