House to probe high fuel price

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — The House Committee on Energy will conduct on Friday at the Capitol a public hearing on the reported high prices of fuel products sold in this city and the rest of Negros Occidental.

Representative Albee Benitez (3rd district) said the hearing is an offshoot of House Resolution 1218 that he filed and Resolution 1170 filed by Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares, who is also attending the hearing. 

Both resolutions were adopted by the House of Representatives even before the first regular session ended, said Benitez in his press release.

Attending the hearing would be committee chair, Rep. Henedina Abad (Batanes), congressmen of Negros Occidental, Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr., Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras, representatives from Petron, Pilipinas Shell, Caltex, Chevron, Total and UniOil, the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the United Negros Drivers and Operators Center (UNDOC), other provincial officials and business leaders.

The probe seeks to identify the real cause of the disparity between the prices of fuel in Negros Occidental and that of Metro Manila and other provinces in the country such as Cebu and even Davao, it read.

It will also deal with the allegations of the local business and transport sector of price manipulation and cartelization among the big oil companies operating in Negros Occidental.

Benitez said he is hopeful that the hearing would yield results that are favorable to the general public especially to the transport sector which are directly affected by the high prices of fuel in the province.

"Unlike the other dialogues held in the past regarding the same issue, this hearing would be conducted with the general objective of identifying the real cause of the problem and policy gaps in order for us, your congressmen, to know what policies that we need to legislate or amend in the national level," Benitez said.

The inquiry stemmed from complaints of the business and transport sectors in the province last year that the prices of fuel here are higher by P4 to P5 per liter compared to prices in other big cities and provinces. - THE FREEMAN