Small oil firms nix removal of ‘unleaded’ tag

MANILA, Philippines - Smaller oil companies are opposing a proposed circular by the Department of Energy (DOE), requiring the deletion of the generic term “unleaded gasoline” in gasoline stations, products and oil companies’ display boards.

In a briefing with reporters, Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies Association (IPPCA) president Fernando Martinez said that deletion of the generic term unleaded gasoline in the sale of gasoline contradicts the intention of the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998, which sought to make the local oil industry competitive.

“We are against the removal of the term unleaded because we would have to spend more money on advertising,” Martinez told reporters.

He said only the bigger players would be able to afford to spend more to advertise their unleaded brands, making the industry less competitive.

The proposed DOE circular, to take effect on July 1, 2013, mandates that “all oil industry participants shall no longer use the term unleaded, lead-free and similar brand names in the labeling of the display boards, pumps and other marketing tools to the public.

In a letter to the Energy department dated April 14, Martinez cited Republic Act 6675 or the Generics Act of 1988.

“It was passed to use the generic name of the medicine instead of the brand name to ensure the adequate supply of drugs with generic names at the lowest possible cost and endeavor to make them available for free indigent patients,” Martinez said.

He said that medicine prices in the Philippines were high because of the monopolistic tendencies of the large pharmaceutical companies in terms of its patents and marketing budgets.

“Without the Generics Act, large companies have unfair advantage of marketing and heavy advertising to make the market a monopoly,” Martinez said.

He said the situation is similar in the oil industry. “Following the argument of the Generics Act in the pharmaceutical industry, “unleaded” and “lead-free” are generic terms that are being used in our country for the past 14 years and removing it is contrary to the consumers interest,” he said.

Martinez said the energy department circular could confuse motorists who may think that oil companies are no longer selling unleaded gasoline.

Jetti Petroleum Inc. corporate affairs manager Leo Bellas, however, is supportive of the proposal, saying that the company sees nothing wrong with the removal of the term ”unleaded.”