Oil firms enforce big-time rollback
Oil companies slashed pump prices yesterday by as much as P6 per liter, the biggest one-time rollback since the implementation of the oil deregualtion law 10 years ago.
Unioil Petroleum Corp. implemented the biggest cut, at P6 per liter for diesel and P2.50 for gasoline and kerosene.
Petron Corp., Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Chevron Philippines, Total Philippines Corp., PTT Philippines and Eastern Petroleum Corp. rolled back their prices by P5 per liter for diesel and P2 for gasoline and kerosene.
Seaoil cut its diesel prices by P4 per liter. Flying V cut its diesel price by P4 and its gasoline by P2 per liter. Flying V chairman Ramon Villavicencio said another cut of P3 to P4 is expected for diesel products in December.
Local petroleum firms implemented sharper price cuts in the light of falling global crude prices as well as pressure from consumer and militant groups.
Dubai crude, the pricing benchmark of oil refiners, went down to an average of $68 per barrel as of Oct. 29, from $95.90 per barrel in September.
Gasoline in Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), the pricing gauge used by oil importers, went down to $81 per barrel as of Oct. 29, from $107.10 per barrel average last month.
LPG contract prices also dropped to $90 per metric ton in October from $121.04 in September.
Yesterday’s rollback was the fourth for October. Gasoline and diesel prices have gone down by a total of P15.50 and P16.50 per liter, respectively, since August.
Eastern Petroleum chairman Fernando Martinez said the rollback was the 15th since July 31.
With the latest rollback, Eastern Petroleum’s diesel product now costs P39.50 per liter from P44.50 for PUJs and P40.50 for the regular diesel lane.
Its gasoline is now priced at P45.50 per liter from P47.50.
Palace welcomes price cuts
Malacañang welcomed the price cuts and thanked the oil firms for heeding its appeal for them to help ease the burden of consumers.
“We’re glad the oil companies responsibly responded to our call. This will bring relief to our consumers,” Presidential deputy spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said.
Fajardo said the administration expects the prices of other goods to go down and that the Department of Trade and Industry will make sure that corresponding price cuts are implemented for basic consumer products.
“The government, through the DTI, would continue monitoring the reduction of prices of commodities affected by fuel prices,” Fajardo said.
House wishes for more cuts
“The rollback is good news to all of us. This is a positive result of constructive criticism. I wish that the price of oil will go down further,” Speaker Prospero Nograles, who wanted a P7 to P8 per liter rollback on gasoline and diesel, said.
But Bayan Muna Reps. Satur Ocampo and Teddy Casiño said the latest rollbackwas not enough.
“Oil price rollback is good. The question is if that is enough and if further rollbacks are on line as they should be,” Ocampo said.
He pointed out that prices of crude oil in the world market have gone down to $61 per barrel.
Casiño, for his part, is calling for a repeal of the Oil Deregulation Law to allow the government to revert to a regulated oil industry.
But the House leadership is not keen on repealing the law.
Nograles said he is “more amenable to amending certain provisions of the law to give it more teeth in ensuring that oil industry players will not abuse their pricing discretion and pump prices are proportionate to the prevailing trend in the world market.”
In a statement, the Speaker said it would be “more counter-productive if Congress would repeal the law as this would bring back the regime of government subsidies similar to the Oil Price Stabilization Fund which uses taxpayers’ money to keep oil prices low.”
“It is still premature to push for the scrapping of the Oil Deregulation Law,” Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo, chairman of the House committee on energy, said.
By Donnabelle Gatdula , Philippine Star Updated October 31, 2008 12:00 AM