RP House speaker warns oil firms

RP House speaker warns oil firms

MANILA (AFP): House Speaker Manuel Villar warned oil companies here Wednesday he would work to repeal the oil deregulation law, possibly reimposing fuel price controls, if the oil companies raised retail prices.

"Do everything you possibly can to prevent another oil price hike. If this (increase) goes on, we may be forced to review the oil deregulation law," Villar said at a congressional hearing.

Echoing Villar's sentiments, Marcial Punzalan, head of a committee looking into the alleged cartelization of the local oil industry, said he would "take a fearless step to pursue measures to bust the oil cartel ..."

He said action was needed "to stop the continuous reaping of the economic benefits of the selfish few at the expense of the suffering majority."

Philippine Energy Secretary Mario Tiaoqui appealed to oil companies to refrain from raising their pump prices after crude oil prices surged to nine-year highs.

Earlier this week, representatives of the country's three oil refiners told a congressional hearing they would have to raise pump prices soon, adding they were already losing money since local prices had not caught up to international levels.

Legislators have accused the country's oil refiners of working as a cartel and some have suggested reimposing price controls that were abolished when the industry was deregulated last year.

Tiaoqui said in a statement issued Wednesday that "price movements in the world market are still too volatile. It is best therefore to wait until crude oil prices stabilize" before deciding whether to raise oil prices.

He conceded that international oil prices reached their highest level since the 1991 Gulf war but since then crude prices have "been on a down trend."

A meeting of oil producers in March could result in a decision to raise production and bring down oil prices, he added.

In a separate development, President Joseph Estrada thanked the oil companies for not raising their prices yet, saying that talking with the oil companies was his only way of putting off increases.

In a radio interview, Estrada said that since oil prices were already deregulated the oil companies could freely raise their prices.

But "we were able to hold off the increase in oil prices here even for a little while by talking to them."

"I am thanking the oil companies that they did not increase immediately or raised it only slightly" earlier this month, Estrada said, adding that neighboring countries had raised their prices more than the Philippines.

In the past, hikes in oil prices have been followed by street protests including grenade attacks by communist guerrillas on the headquarters of oil companies.

Estrada has also said oil price increases were partly to blame for the dramatic fall in his popularity.