MANILA, Philippines - Transport group Piston scored the new rounds of oil price increase implemented Tuesday morning by big oil companies .
"Ang gahamang kartel sa langis ng Big Three ay walang inatupag kundi ang magpatupad nang sunud-sunod na pagtaas sa presyo ng langis," Piston national president George San Mateo said in a statement.
San Mateo said the fresh oil price increase was implemented amid the devastation brought by the 7.2 magnitude quake that struck the province of Bohol and nearby islands in Central Visayas.
Oil companies Petron Corp., Shell Philippines and independent oil firm PTT Philippines announced price hikes for gasoline effective 6 a.m. on Tuesday.
The three companies will have an increase of 20 centavos per liter of gasoline, while Petron and Shell will also have a 35-centavo increase per liter of kerosene.
The companies said there will be no adjustments on the price of diesel.
Shell said the price hike will not affect Bohol and Cebu, both declared in a state of calamity after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that rocked the provinces last week.
San Mateo also criticized the Department of Energy for its inaction on reports that fuel prices in Bohol have been jacked up between P100 to P120 per liter.
"Garapalan at harap-harapan na ang pananamantalang overpricing ng Kartel sa Langis sa Bohol pero bulag-bulagan lang ang DOE at wala silang ginagawa upang pigilan ang garapalang pananamantala ng oil cartel sa Bohol," San Mateo said.
Meanwhile, San Mateo said that drivers and transport operators allied with Piston will join the protest march on Oct. 24, Thursday, to condemn the new oil price increase.