Bayan Muna pushes for oil industry regulation amid Russia-Ukraine crisis
MANILA, Philippines — Partylist group Bayan Muna on Sunday urged the government to regulate the oil industry amid the crisis between Ukraine and Russia, a key crude producer.
The tension between the two nations have caused oil prices to soar to $100 per barrel.
READ: World stocks plunge, oil tops $100 as Russia invades Ukraine
“The conflict has started to jack up oil prices to unprecedented levels and it is therefore imperative that the downstream oil industry be again placed under regulation to protect our much burdened consumers. Yet, the Duterte administration remains deaf on this call of our people,” House Deputy Minority leader and Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Isagani Zarate said in a statement.
He added there will be another big time oil price hike for the ninth consecutive week with the following increases:
Gasoline – P0.90-P1.00 per liter
Article continues after this advertisementDiesel – P0.70-P0.80 per liter
Article continues after this advertisementKerosene – P0.70-P0.80 per liter
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) – P10-P15 per kilo
Zarate lamented that oil price hikes affect the country’s cost of living, jobs, and national budget.
READ: Lawmakers propose oil price hike mitigations
“Deregulation has allowed oil price increases to go unchecked. With petroleum as a sensitive commodity, because price directly affects the cost of almost all other commodities and services, including essentials such as food, housing, social services, as well as transportation, deregulation has given transnational oil corporations even more leeway to influence the country’s cost of living, livelihoods, business and commerce, employment, and the National Budget,” the lawmaker explained.
As the suspension of excise tax on oil and the unbundling of oil prices are still uncertain, “the Duterte administration will leave a legacy of being callous to our peoples’ plight,” he added.
READ: Bayan Muna wants oil price data unbundled amid Saudi oil sites attack
Zarate added that the administration wasted six years to regulate anew the “downstream oil industry resulting in incessant oil price hikes to the detriment of consumers.”
House Bill No. 4711, which requires the regulation of the petroleum industry, remains pending in the House of Representatives.
