Speaker Romualdez to oil players: Help ease impact of high fuel prices – or else
MANILA, Philippines – House Speaker Martin Romualdez warned of “unpalatable” measures against key players in the oil industry should they fail to find solutions that would curb the impact of rising fuel prices on ordinary Filipinos.
Romualdez made the statement during a closed-door meeting between House leaders and representatives from fuel companies on Monday, September 18.
A press release from his office said the Speaker asked oil firms to “find ways to cut their profit margins to reduce fuel prices.”
“If you are part of the solution, Congress will be very appreciative and supportive of you. But if you are part of the problem, we might have to undertake measures that would be unpalatable to you,” Romualdez told big oil players.
Present during the meeting were Department of Energy officials, as well as representatives from Petron, Shell, Chevron, Flying V, Total, the Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies Association, and the Philippine Institute of Petroleum.
It remains to be seen how unappealing those measures are that the House would impose on oil players that would not heed Romualdez’s suggestion.
One course of action floated during the meeting, based on SAGIP Representative Rodante Marcoleta’s proposal, was to revisit the oil deregulation law due to the lack of transparency in the pricing scheme of fuel companies.
Earlier on Monday, House Assistant Minority Leader Arlene Brosas of Gabriela called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to certify as urgent bills seeking to scrap the excise tax and value-added tax on oil.
She claimed that doing so would slash the price of diesel by as much as P15 per liter.
“Oil taxes must be scrapped at the soonest time to bring urgent relief to Filipinos, and especially as world oil prices are set to further escalate in the coming months,” the opposition lawmaker said.
The Philippines is headed for an 11th consecutive week of oil price hike after top producers Russia and Saudi Arabia extended supply cuts.
This brings total increases for diesel to P16.90 per liter, gasoline to P11.60, and kerosene to P15.74 since July.
Earlier this month, the government rolled out its P2.95-billion fuel subsidy program for public utility vehicle operators to cushion the impact of the oil price hikes.
– Rappler.com