BAGUIO CITY, Philippines ? The city government has asked oil firms and their local retailers to reduce gasoline prices in Baguio that were made higher by P4 to P5 than petroleum products sold in lowland provinces by freight costs.

Local retailers of Chevron (formerly Caltex) informed Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr. that the firm shaved off an undetermined amount of shipping expense to enable them to impose a 50-centavo pump price rollback on Thursday to comply with his request.

Petroleum supply here is shipped from oil refineries in Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon.

Bautista met 15 gasoline station owners and franchise holders to explore the reduction after he acknowledged that high gasoline prices had discouraged tourists who traveled using their own vehicles.

?Because of the price difference, tourists may actually gas up in Saitan (Rosario), La Union, or Sison, Pangasinan before [proceeding to] Baguio. But what if they decide not to even drive up anymore?? the mayor said.

?This is not martial law. I am here to plead for some sort of community initiative where we can help each other,? he said.

?I don?t know if this has been done elsewhere. I know I have been criticized for attempting this because not even the energy secretary [Angelo Reyes] has been successful in bringing down gas prices,? Bautista said.

The firms did not present a matrix explaining why gasoline prices cost more here, although they agreed to meet and discuss the city government proposal.

The firms? representatives, in return, asked for a crackdown on underground oil retailers that sell their products P2 cheaper.

Many dealers sell supplies that are shipped to facilities housed in towns outside Baguio City, where they have operating licenses, the firms? representatives said in a report to Bautista.