MANILA - Imposing taxes on make-up and other beauty products is a "better alternative" to raising duties on petroleum products, a lawmaker said.

Ako-Bicol party-list Rep. Rodel Batocabe offered the "vanity tax" in place of excise taxes on fuel, which is being pushed by President Rodrigo Duterte's economic team to offset a planned reduction in income taxes.

“While the poor can avoid the use of beauty products, they however, cannot avoid using public transportation or purchasing basic commodities.” Batocabe said.

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Instead of taxing petroleum products, Batocabe said the government should plug leakages and expand its tax base to include "stable" industries like beauty and cosmetics.

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Batocabe said sales of cosmetics have been rising in the last decade as consumers see beauty products as necessities rather than luxuries.

His bill seeks to impose a 30-percent tax on the wholesale price or import value of beauty products, including perfumes and toiletries. -- with reports from RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News