P100 per liter of gas? DOE says that's unlikely
MANILA, Philippines — The Energy department said Tuesday it does not foresee gas and diesel hitting P100 per liter this year even after local oil companies announced a big-time price increase in their petroleum products.
"There are no drastic factors...Under the situation right now and existing circumstances, we don't see that it will reach P100 [per liter]," Energy Undersecretary Gerardo Erguiza said in Filipino during a Laging Handa briefing on Tuesday.
As of June 2022, gasoline prices have hit as high as P82 per liter while diesel prices reached P85 per liter, according to industry figures.
The prices of petroleum products have been increasing since the start of the year, and situation was partly worsened by Russia's war on Ukraine. Erguiza said the DOE has asked the oil industry to give discounts to consumers, which have been granted, while the government is focusing on disbursing fuel subsidies to provide targeted relief to those in the transport, farming and fishing sectors.
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He reiterated the government's stance that exempting fuel excise taxes is not the way to go, saying that "even the rich will benefit from such a move."
Last week, Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (Cagayan de Oro) vowed to re-file a proposal to suspend the collection of excise taxes on gas, diesel, cooking products, and other fuel products in the incoming Congress, which will start on July 25.
He believes that the lifting of excise taxes will cut pump prices by as much as P6 per liter, easing the burden on people. Aside from rolling back oil prices and suspending taxes on fuel, fishers' group Pamalakaya also wants the incoming administration to scrap the Oil Deregulation Act of 1998, which removed price controls.
Controls were removed because it was too expensive for government to subsidize price increases. Since deregulation, the government has relied on competition to keep prices manageable.
In a statement Tuesday, Pamalakaya said deregulation allows private companies "to manipulate and jack up local pump prices for their super-profits".
The DOE, on the other hand, is pushing to amend the Oil Deregulation law so it can have authority to intervene when there is a spike in global oil prices, such as unbundling the cost of petroleum products to reflect their true and passed-on charges.
Earlier this week, domestic oil firms announced price increases of P2.7 per liter for gas, P6.55 per liter for diesel and P5.45 per liter for kerosene.
Year-to-date adjustments show that gas prices had risen by P26.55 per liter, diesel by P36.85 per liter and kerosene by P33.10 per liter, as of June 7.
The Philippines is heavily reliant on the global oil market, which is susceptible to price adjustments triggered by developments in other countries.
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