Consumer group backs plan to build strategic oil reserve facility

MANILA, Philippines - Consumer and Oil Price Watch (COPW) chairman Raul T. Concepcion has urged the Department of Energy (DOE) to revisit a plan to put up a strategic oil reserve facility.

“The strategic petroleum reserve can be sold to the market when prices bought by the oil companies are higher than market prices,” Concepcion said.

The idea of an oil reserve warehouse was brought up some years back by some DOE officials as one of the possible ways to ensure energy security. Similar facilities were being built in other countries for the same purpose.

Earlier, there was a proposal to establish the oil reserve facility in Subic, Zambales or in an island in Mindanao.

The COPW chief said the group also decided to withdraw its motion to intervene as petitioner in a civil case which was supposed to compel the oil companies, DOE and the Department of Justice to pursue other remedies in light of DOE Secretary Angelo Reyes’ recent announcement.

“The DOE Secretary stated that since the oil industry was deregulated by virtue of the Downstream Oil Deregulation law (RA 8479), the DOE cannot dictate oil pricing and that market competition ultimately determines it,” Concepcion said.

“Despite the fact that the deregulation law provides safeguards to consumers, our course of action is to meet the House and Senate Committee on Energy and will consider the various proposals to transfer the powers of the DOE to the ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission),” Concepcion added.

“There is an urgent need to allay the fears of the public in light of increases in the prices of basic commodities and the valid concerns of the transport sector.”

Concepcion said instead of the civil case, he will just push for bills in Congress that would help draw up remedies to the recent oil price increases.

Among his suggestions are the transfer of the oversight functions to the ERC to dictate pump prices based on world market prices.

Concepcion’s proposal is basically going back to a regime of oil regulation when oil prices were set by the then Energy Regulatory Board (ERB). – Donnabelle L. Gatdula