Oil firms cut diesel, gas prices

MANILA, Philippines - Oil companies yesterday rolled back their gasoline and diesel prices by P1.20 and P1 per liter, respectively.

In media advisories, Petron, Shell, Unioil Petroleum, Seaoil Philippines and Eastern Petroleum said they would also reduce the price of kerosene by 80 centavos per liter, in line with the drop in international prices.

Chevron followed suit at midnight and slashed the price of its gasoline, diesel and kerosene products also by P1.20, P1 and 80 centavos per liter, respectively.

President Aquino earlier directed a task force composed of representatives of the Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) to review the Oil Deregulation Law to ensure a fair and competitive oil industry.

Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said the DOE is open to investigations and inquiries of Congress and other stakeholders since it has always been transparent about recent price trends in the market.

“We have explained and presented to various groups and legislators how we monitor and compute fuel prices, and we will continue to be transparent and are very much willing to be called by Congress and be investigated,” Almendras said.

Almendras, currently in Brunei for the ASEAN Energy Ministers Annual Meeting, said the DOE has always been open as regards its pricing computation especially with transport groups, through a weekly Monday meeting with Energy Undersecretary Jose Layug.

In response to the P9 rollback being clamored by various transport groups, the DOE said it is also open to data from those claiming that there is indeed overpricing of fuel pump prices by that amount.

The DOE said it has put in place price mitigation plans since December 2010 to counter oil price hikes. 

It appealed to oil companies and the public transport sector was granted P1-P2 per liter discount. 

The DOE also monitors the ethical and legal standards by which the petrol and petroleum products were acquired and marketed. 

“Pricing is not everything. Lower prices do not necessarily mean consumer welfare. We need to ensure that the petrol and petroleum products sold in the market adhere to quality standards which the government has set. We cannot scrimp on a few hundred pesos and risk our lives,” he said.

Sustainability plans are also being put in place for the transport sector: the Alternative Fuels Roadmap and its implementing program, the Fueling Sustainable Transport Program.