Palace backs oil price hike

By ELLSON A. QUISMORIO and GENALYN D. KABILING

March 2, 2011, 7:53pm

MANILA, Philippines — While the government’s hands are full assisting displaced overseas Filipino workers in Libya, the Aquino administration may have to work overtime as one of the collateral damage from the ongoing political unrest in the oil-rich nation is the escalation in the pump prices of fuel and other petroleum products.

Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman Abigail Valte said the latest round of oil price increases, which took effect last Tuesday, is warranted with the upward trend in the world market.

“The market is very volatile today. The oil prices are not only increasing in the country, but also other nations importing oil due to the unrest in Libya,” said Valte, adding that the hike of as much as P1.25 per liter is “within their computations” of the Department of Energy (DoE).

Amid this, Valte stressed the government is not inclined to support proposals to repeal the Oil Deregulation Law, saying the state cannot afford to subsidize the oil requirements of Filipinos due to limited resources.

“There are calls for the regulation of the oil industry but it will take a big amount of money from the government to fully subsidize, to take over the oil industry,” she told reporters.

The country’s monthly oil bill is estimated at $1 billion.

Under the deregulated environment, oil players have the flexibility to adjust the prices of their products to reflect the price in the global market.

Tuesday’s hike, the third since Feb. 8, was the biggest so far this year. But as uncertainty in Libya lingers so thus the uptick in oil prices. Authorities have forewarned the public to brace for more increases in the coming days.

So, what do cost-weary consumers have to say about the oil firms’ continuous price increases?

The increase in diesel costs has sent the riding public worrying that public utility jeepney (PUJ) drivers and operators would once again demand a hike in jeepney fares.

“Parang nabale-wala rin yung idinagdag na P1 sa pasahe dahil higit na sa P1 yung itinaas ng krudo (This means that the P1 fare increase is useless since diesel has gone up by over P1),” said Randy Boy Buizon, 38, a PUJ driver in Taguig City.

It, too, means a dent on the pocket of the students like Kenneth Matthew Gonzales. “Mabigat na nga sa bulsa yung itinaas na P1 (The P1 increase is already burdensome),” said Gonzales, 19, a junior at Colegio San Juan de Letran. “There should be a point when the government will step in and tell oil companies that enough is enough,” he added.

Patrick Mayo, 29, a marketing manager, was “shocked” to find out the change in fuel prices at a local gas station. “I was shocked upon seeing that Shell had raised its unleaded from P50.75 to P52 in a single day!” he shared.

Expensive gasoline has made a commuter out of 21-year-old call center agent Jover Dailo, who used to ride his motorcycle to work. Now he finds the jeep as a slightly cheaper alternative.

“Dati yung P100 ko halos tatlong litro ng gas na, ngayon kulang pa sa dalawang litro (Back then my P100 was good for almost three liters of gas, now it’s not even enough to buy two),” Dailo lamented.

Prior to  the political tension in Libya, the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was on a downward trend. However, the direction took a 360-degree turn with the price of LPG up by P1.50-per-kilo.

“Sinasabi nila noong nakaraan buwan na pababa ang LPG, bakit ngayon biglang itinaas? (Last month they were saying that LPG prices were going down, so what’s with the sudden hike?)," Anecia Javier, scratching her head, said.

REACTION:

Once there would an increase in LPG the result would an increase also in the fares of the jeepney and tricycle especially in the provinces.  The mistake that they have done is that they did not announced earlier that there would be an increase in LPG so the drivers encounter a sudden shocked relating this matter.  The good thing that they must change is that they must announced it earlier that there would be an increase in the LPG for the drivers not to be shocked in this matter because they were excepting low prices in the LPG but unfortunately there is an increase of prices.  So, the drivers now are complaining that they must increase also their fares because its unfair for their part as drivers "kasi hindi kaya ng kanilang sahod sa pamamasada ang pabilisan ng pagtaas ng presyo ng langis".  According from what my tita told me on what she saw in the Inquirer that in Manila jeepney drivers demanded a 12 pesos minimum fare because of the oil price hike.  They must think also for those who are really working hard for their families. They must think before they act and promulgate in as early as possible for the drivers not to expect for the worse for the must expect for the best.