Solon hit for inaction on oil price hikes

LUCENA CITY—One of the most influential members of the House of Representatives came under fire from left-wing groups crying foul over Congress inaction on proposed measures to stop increases in oil prices.

Representative Henedina Abad (lone district, Batanes) sat on these measures, according to the militant Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), a fisherman’s group.

Abad is chair of the House committee on energy which has jurisdiction over proposals to end oil price increases.

“She is not doing her job,” said Fernando Hicap, Pamalakaya chairman.

Representative Abad, wife of Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, “blatantly snubbed” proposals calling for a review of the Oil Deregulation Law and for an investigation of charges of overpricing by oil companies.

Representative Abad, however, denied the accusation. She said her committee conducted a public hearing in Bacolod City “precisely to look into alleged overpricing and better understand the issues.”

She said in a text message that there had been a “consensus among various stakeholders that a review of books of oil companies is critical.”

The Department of Energy (DoE), she added, is currently doing this. Her committee is awaiting the DoE report, she said.

“I have not been remiss in my job,” she said.

According to Hicap, however, Representative Abad sat on the following proposals:

— House Bill No. 4335 and No. 4317 filed on March 29, 2011, by Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño and Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano calling for a repeal of the Oil Deregulation Law

— House Resolution No. 1779 filed on Aug. 10, 2011, calling for an investigation of oil prices’ impact on 1.3 million fishermen

— HB 2569 and HB 5295 both calling for the repeal of the Oil Deregulation Law and the return of the Oil Price Stabilization Fund (OPSF)

— HB 00347 also calling for the return of OPSF, a form of subsidy that the Marcos dictatorship used in the past to keep oil prices stable

— HB 3767 seeking to amend the law that deregulated the oil industry

— HB 02806 and HB 04554 seeking to stop the collection of value-added tax on oil and oil products

Hicap said since January this year, oil firms have raised pump prices of diesel by P1.30 per liter, unleaded gasoline by P3.10 per liter and LPG by P115.50 per 11-kilogram tank.

The impact of the price increases on fishermen is disastrous, said Hicap. Quoting a study made by his group, more than 300,000 small-fishing-boat operators now spend P300 to P600 on fuel per fishing trip compared to P180 in 2010.

This forced fishermen to reduce the time they spend out at sea.—With Gil Cabacungan in Manila