Fuel surge sparks push to restore state power over prices
MANILA, Philippines — As fuel prices soar due to the conflict in the Middle East, Senate President Tito Sotto sought the repeal of the law deregulating the oil industry and having the government regain control over it.
Oil prices have increased in the double digits for two weeks in a row, sending petrol products past P100 per liter.
In Senate Bill 1984, Sotto said that Republic Act (RA) 8479 or the Oil Deregulation Law had liberalized and deregulated the downstream oil industry, allowing firms to adjust the prices of gasoline, diesel, and kerosene every week.
“It is high time to give back to the state the authority to manage fuel prices. Now that our petroleum prices are directly impacted by the geopolitical tension in the Middle East, transparency, scrutiny and uniformity in pricing are needed more than ever,” Sotto said in the bill’s explanatory note released Tuesday, March 18.
If the law is repealed, any law, presidential decree, issuance, executive order or the like will be amended.
The government has already begun distribution of fuel subsidies to public utility vehicle drivers, but as war between Iran and Israel threatens to prolong.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro has urged the public to remain calm and to avoid fear-mongering.
“Let us refrain from doing activities like fear-mongering. This adds to the fear of our countrymen, meanwhile the President and the government are still in control—in control of the situation,” Castro said.
Asked to comment on the possible repeal of the deregulation law, Castro said that the matter was best left to Congress.
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