Oil prices up again, 12th time this year

MANILA, Philippines—Even before the promised fuel subsidy for public utility jeepneys and tricycles could be implemented, local oil companies have again raised the prices of gasoline and diesel by P1.50 to P1.75 a liter and kerosene by P1.40 a liter.

Chevron (formerly Caltex), Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Petron Corp. and Total Philippines enforced the price increases starting Tuesday, saying it reflected the rise in the global prices of petroleum products.

According to a report from the Department of Energy (DoE), the latest increase brought the price of diesel to P46.45 to P49 a liter, and the price of gasoline to P53.60 and P60.81 a liter—breaching record high levels in 2008.

This is the 12th time that local oil companies raised their prices since the beginning of 2011. The total increases now amount to P9.60 a liter for gasoline and P9.85 a liter for diesel; the total reductions remain marginal at P1.75 a liter for gasoline and 25 centavos for diesel.

Right to peaceful assembly

The militant transport group Pinagkaisang Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston) said it would mount fresh protests, including transport strikes, in May if the government failed to address the spiraling costs of fuel.

Piston, which Tuesday picketed Shell’s headquarters in Makati City to protest the latest fuel price increases, also chided President Benigno Aquino III for his spokesperson Edwin Lacierda’s apparent threat against the group.

“Our sincere advice to the President is not to look at our actions as disruptions to the riding public,” Piston secretary general George San Mateo said in a statement, adding that the right of Filipinos to hold peaceful mass actions to “seek redress to grievances” was protected by the Constitution.

Lacierda had earlier warned Piston to ensure that its protest actions against fuel price increases would not “affect the riding public,” or it would have to “face the consequences.”

Wrong advice

In a statement, the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) pointed out that the latest price increases had wiped out the government’s planned fuel subsidy Pantawid Pasada even before it could be implemented.

It challenged the President to fire his economic managers for giving him “wrong advice.”

With the P1.50 per liter increase in the price of diesel, the daily fuel cost of jeepney drivers has again risen by P45 based on their average daily consumption of 30 liters, Bayan said. On the other hand, Pantawid Pasada will provide a monthly subsidy of only P35 a day, and will not even be available until next month, it said.

Under the fuel assistance program, jeepney drivers will be given smart cards worth P1,050 (P35 a day) which they can use to buy fuel or avail themselves of discounts on a staggered basis. The cards will be distributed starting May 2.

Tricycle drivers will receive P150 (P5 a day).

Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes noted that Mr. Aquino’s presidency was nearing its one-year mark. “But in terms of economic policies, we have not seen a substantial change from the anti-people and dole-out programs of the Arroyo administration,” he said.

Reyes said “a case in point” was the escalating oil prices and Mr. Aquino’s decision, “on the advice of his economic managers, to implement a Pantawid Pasada instead of addressing the more important issues of price deregulation, value-added tax (VAT) and profiteering of the oil firms.”

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) had also said public transport operators who would join strikes risked the cancellation of their franchises for failing to do their duty of providing mass transportation services to commuters.

But Piston’s San Mateo said that if the government failed to stop the fuel price hikes, the group would have no choice but to go on strike.

“We are not afraid of Malacañang’s threat because the Filipino people, including ordinary consumers and commuters, are on our side,” San Mateo said. “We will wait until May 1 for the government’s answer.”

He said Piston was preparing for a second round of nationwide protests that could include transport strikes in key areas including Metro Manila.

Echoing Bayan’s Reyes, San Mateo said the effect of Pantawid Pasada was wiped out by the latest rise in fuel prices even before the first peso was even handed out.

Bayan, along with other groups, had been campaigning for the scrapping of the Oil Deregulation Law so as to give the government teeth to curb spikes in fuel prices.

Various groups have since been lobbying for the removal of the 12-percent VAT on oil to immediately bring down pump prices by P7 per liter or more.

Reyes said Mr. Aquino’s economic managers preferred “dole-out measures” and “feared the loss of government revenues from the VAT.”

“If this is indeed a new government, then it should find ways to generate revenues without burdening the people. If it is serious and effective in fighting corruption and tax evasion, then there will be no need for the VAT on oil,” he said.

‘No overcharging’

Elsewhere, the Provincial Bus Operators Association of the Philippines denied reports that its member-companies were overcharging passengers in time for the summer season, when demand is highest.

The group said its member-companies were simply implementing fare rate adjustments approved by the LTFRB in 2008.

“Our member-companies have been operating without relief from government despite the recent fuel price surges and increases in labor and toll fee rates,” said the association president Alex Yague.

“Instead of imposing punitive measures on us, the government should instead appreciate the provincial bus operators’ consistent fulfillment of their public service function and their decision not to burden the riding public with what is justifiably a new fare rate hike increase,” he said.

Yague also said that the member-companies had voluntarily cut fares after operating costs stabilized in 2009, and that the fares they charged were lower than what were allowed under the May 2008 fare rates.

He said the fare reduction made in 2009 was done voluntarily because of the drop in fuel costs at the time.

“Instead of punishing us, the national government should come to our succor and review both the incentives and regulatory structure that govern the industry,” he said.

Oil prices have been rising unrelentingly, hitting another new two-and-a-half-year high last seen in September 2008, according to the DoE oil monitor report.

The DoE cited “a variety of potential reasons for the continued spike in oil … including another earthquake of 7.1-magnitude that occurred Thursday near the same location [as that on March 11] off the coast of Japan that supported the argument for even more use of traditional fuels for power.”

Source.