Bayan Muna: Gov’t must soften high fuel prices’ impact after fresh hikes

MANILA, Philippines — The government should take decisive measures to ease the effects of high fuel prices after another round of increases this week, a progressive group said on Tuesday.

According to Bayan Muna’s former representative Ferdinand Gaite, the Department of Energy (DOE) must scrutinize the prices posted by the oil companies.

Gaite once again urged price unbundling rather than just announcing the final price to reveal all the actual fuel costs and the companies’ profits from it.

“We call on the government to step in and take decisive measures to address this issue. It is high time that the interests of the Filipino people take precedence over the profit-driven motives of the oil industry,” Gaite said, as the group staged a protest along the Boy Scout Circle in Quezon City.

“We call on the Department of Energy to closely scrutinize oil companies and hold them accountable for their exorbitant pricing schemes. Oil prices must now be unbundled and VAT as well as excise tax on oil should now be scrapped. The Filipino people deserve affordable and accessible energy resources,” he added.

Prices of gasoline fuel rose by P2.10 per liter. It increased by P3.50 per liter for diesel and P3.25 per liter for kerosene.

With the latest round of increases, pump stations are now selling unleaded gasoline at around P60 to P65 per liter, premium unleaded variants at P62 to P70 per liter, and diesel at P60 to P65 per liter.

READ: Oil firms raise prices of petroleum products by up to P3.50/liter 

Gaite said the higher prices put more burden on the masses still reeling from the effects of high inflation rates and other challenges during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The relentless increase in oil prices is an unjust burden on the shoulders of our fellow Filipinos, especially the poor and marginalized who are already grappling with the economic repercussions of the pandemic. It is unacceptable that oil companies continue to prioritize their profits at the expense of the people’s welfare,” he said.

“Ang patuloy na pagsirit ng presyo ng langis na napakabigat na talaga sa mga driver, motorista at sa lahat ng mamamayan,” he added.

(The continuous rise in oil prices has burdened drivers, motorists, and all Filipinos.)

Moves to unbundle the oil prices are not new; in past editions of the Congresses, many proposals were filed, including that from Bayan Muna lawmakers, to show publicly the break of the details of different fuels’ per liter prices.

Gaite and fellow former Bayan Muna solon Carlos Zarate speculated that oil companies may be taking advantage of certain global incidents, to increase fuel prices.

READ: With successive oil price hikes, Bayan Muna presses Cusi to focus on work, get out of politics

Similarly, there have been calls to suspend or remove the imposition of value-added tax and excise tax on fuel products — and ultimately, amend the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act.

je/abc