Price freeze on oil products sought

MANILA, Philippines - A party-list group on Tuesday called on President Benigno Aquino III to impose an indefinite freeze on prices of petroleum products, a day after oil firms hiked anew prices of oil products by as much as P 1.15 per liter for gasoline and 0.70 centavos per liter of diesel. 

Anakpawis party-list Vice Chairperson Fernando Hicap urged the president to use vast executive powers at his disposal to stop the profiteering activities of oil companies led by Shell, Petron and Chevron. 

On Monday, Chevron Philippines announced an across-the-board, across the country increase in the prices of gasoline by P 1.15 per liter, 0.95 centavos per liter for regular gasoline, diesel by 0.65 centavos per liter and kerosene by 0.70 centavos per liter. 

"National interest compels the Aquino presidency to stop the oil cartel from exploiting the crisis and taking advantage of the election season to illegally and immorally jack up prices of their oil products," he said. 

The president can do it by just signing an executive order or an administrative order depending on the legal advice of his lawyers and legal consultants," Hicap added.

Hicap cited one of the the immediate solutions proposed by Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano to lower oil price hikes include the removal or reduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) on oil prices.

One of the workable solutions he said is to remove the 12 percent expanded value added tax levied on oil products. 

The legislator said removing the 12 percent VAT from oil products will instantly reduce current oil prices by at least P6 per liter. 

Rep. Mariano is the co-author of House Bill 2719 that seeks to exempt petroleum products from VAT filed by Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño.