Explain latest hike, oil firms told; jeeps seek higher fare
By Michael Lim Ubac, Riza T. Olchondra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:45:00 07/20/2008
Filed Under: Transport, Road Transport, Oil & Gas - Downstream activities
MALACAÑANG WILL ASK OIL FIRMS ANEW to justify the latest pump price increases which took effect starting Saturday.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said yesterday the Big 3 oil firms -- Petron, Shell and Caltex -- and smaller oil players must explain their decision to raise diesel prices by P3 a liter, kerosene by P1.50 a liter and gasoline by P1 a liter.
“Of course, they should explain the price hike to our countrymen,” Ermita said in an interview over radio dzRB.
“What I heard from them is this was to be the last price increase for the month of July, so we will look into the basis for their decision to increase the price of diesel by P3,” he said.
The latest price increase prompted the militant jeepney group Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide or Piston to seek another fare increase of P1.50 and a government ban on further oil price hikes.
Piston secretary general George San Mateo said on Saturday the group would submit its new petition for a fare hike to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) next week.
“Price increases this year have reached a total of P22 for diesel and P16.50 for gasoline. Diesel prices have hit P59 per liter and gasoline P64 per liter, making the latest increase in the minimum jeepney fare to P8.50 useless,” San Mateo said.
“We are also appealing to the government to suspend the Oil Deregulation Law and impose a moratorium on oil price hikes while the joint task force of the Department of Energy and Department of Justice is investigating the reported profiteering, overpricing, transfer-pricing and manipulated increases done by oil companies,” he said.
Ermita said the single biggest increase for any fuel this year could have been triggered by the skyrocketing world oil prices, which are “beyond our control.”
He said the oil firms were susceptible to price adjustments in the world market because “we are importing crude oil.” But, he added, “we will ascertain if that huge an increase is justifiable.”
“That will be looked into by the Department of Energy and government-controlled Petron. We will see what they can do,” said Ermita.
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