PCCI head seeks retention of dual pricing for diesel

There is a need to maintain a dual pricing system for diesel to provide relief to the public transport sector, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) president Donald Dee said.

He said while gas stations are urged to implement a dual pricing system for diesel used by public utility vehicles (PUVs), only a few gas stations do so, with most of them located only in the major PUV routes. PUVs enjoy an average P1 per liter discount on diesel on these participating stations.

However, Dee noted that the dual pricing scheme is optional and not mandated by the government, with Petron-affiliated stations mostly engaging in the scheme.

Petron, the country’s biggest oil refiner, is still minority-owned by the Philippine government.

There are about 100 Petron stations nationwide offering the discount, while Shell, another refiner, has about 16 stations also offering the dual pricing scheme.

At the same time. Dee acknowledged the need to adjust transport fare prices "to some extent" following last week’s nationwide transport strike.

He stressed, however, that the long-term solution to the country’s transport problem still lies in a public mass transport system such as the Light Railway Transit (LRT) system.

But a fare hike at this time would only offer temporary relief since the transport groups would only be recovering past losses since last year, Dee pointed out.

The transport sector is clamoring for changes in the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Law to stop local oil industry players from raising fuel prices at will due to the spike in world crude prices.

In a regulated environment, the local oil firms have to file a petition with the Energy Regulatory Board before implementing a price increase.