Oil firms roll back prices

Petron Corp., Eastern Petroleum Corp. (EPC), and Unioil yesterday announced a rollback of P1 per liter in the price of gasoline and 50 centavos per liter of diesel.

It was EPC that initiated the special discount which will be implemented from Dec. 26 to Dec. 31 this year.

EPC chairman Fernando Martinez said with the reduction, the suggested retail price of diesel will be P37.60 per liter, and P43.57 for unleaded gasoline.

Petron said the special discount will only be carried out in selected competitive trading areas.

Unioil said the rollback of prices took effect at 11:30 last night.

Oil consumers have been asking for relief from the continuous rise in oil prices for the past weeks.

But oil companies have been saying that the recent softening of international crude prices will not result in a rollback in prices but it would keep pump prices at current rates until yearend.

The Department of Energy (DOE) recently forged a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the accounting firm Sycip, Gorres and Velayo (SGV) and the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) to audit the oil firms and check if the oil price movements are reasonable.

Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes said the MOU binds the parties to undertake a study that would assist the DOE in determining if the oil prices are reasonable and develop an enhanced oil pricing study in the Philippines.

Reyes said the DOE sought the assistance of the private sector in undertaking the study which would guide it in proposing policies and programs to the President and Congress in dealing with the continuing increase in the price of crude oil in the global market, which is affecting pump prices in the country.