House opposition slams oil firms for ‘blackmailing’ Congress

The leader of the opposition in the House of Representatives accused the "oil cartel" yesterday of blackmailing Congress and the people on the enforcement of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

"It’s pure and simple blackmail," Minority Leader Carlos Padilla (LDP, Nueva Vizcaya) said of the threat of the "Big 3" oil firms to increase their prices by 80 centavos to P1.50 per liter if they are forced to comply with the law on a cleaner environment.

The law requires oil companies to reduce the level of pollutants on their products, particularly gasoline and diesel, starting Jan. 1, 2003. Industry officials said they can comply, but at a huge cost to the public.

Because of Shell, Caltex and Petron’s price increase threat, the House and the Senate, minutes before adjourning for Halloween last Wednesday night, approved Joint Resolution 21 which defers the enforcement of the pertinent provisions of the Clear Air Act for 2003 and 2004.

Padilla said it is not true that the production and sale of cleaner oil products would mean a price increase of up to P1.50 per liter.

The statement over the weekend of a small player, Unioil, "belies the claim of the oil cartel," he said.

He furnished reporters copies of the Unioil statement that said in part: "Unioil computes that the possible increase in the price of (CAA-compliant) unleaded gasoline would be less than 80 centavos and may even be as low as 20 centavos."

"This is in stark contrast to the 80-centavo to P1.50 increase as earlier projected (by the Big 3)," it added.

Padilla said his colleagues from the majority "should not have taken the dire predictions of the oil cartel hook, line and sinker."

"We should force the oil industry to comply with the law on a cleaner environment. The cost to our people should only be minimal since oil companies were given three years from 1999, when the law was enacted, to prepare for it," he said.

He suggested that Joint Resolution 21, which did not pass through the committee process, should be sent to the committee on ecology for hearings when Congress resumes session on Nov. 11. – Jess Diaz