President Arroyo of the Philippines has indefinitely suspended the five-per cent tariff on imported cement to encourage competition and bring down prices, Trade Secretary Peter Favila said yesterday.

“The reason we did this is because the state has to intervene when it sees that the price of oil has already been lowered, yet the prices of cement, which are dependent on oil prices, continue to remain high,” Favila said in a telephone interview.

He said Mrs. Arroyo signed an order freezing the tariff on the Cabinet’s recommendation.