MANILA - Presidential son and House committee on energy chairman Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo is seeking to "manage" oil prices in calamity stricken areas.

Pampanga Rep. Arroyo made the proposal during Thursday's Legislative and Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC), a regular meeting between the executive and legislative branches to synchronize their priorities.

"Of course I stated that (oil price control) during times of crisis. Though we are in a deregulated industry, perhaps there would be a need to create mechanisms to prevent distributors, oil companies from exploiting the situation, kasi they might take advantage of it by bringing up the price," he said.

Arroyo said they will still discuss possible mechanisms that this can be done. "Pag-uusapan natin, maybe with DTI and the oil players. We will meet the players. I talked with [Trade Secretary Peter] Favila briefly on this kanina. We will meet with him again," Arroyo said.

Arroyo warned oil players who are taking advantage of the situation. "The mere mention of the possibility of a mechanism to control oil price in calamity is already a warning to unscrupulous businessmen not to exploit the situation. Yun ang importante."

Harmful

On Wednesday, energy secretary Angelo Reyes warned that setting price ceiling on petroleum products would do more harm to the consumers.

"The problem is when you impose a price ceiling, the cure might be worse than the disease," he said.

Reyes was reacting to a directive by President Arroyo for the DOE to open the books of oil companies to see to it that their prices are at reasonable levels.

He said controlling oil prices may affect the supply of petroleum products.

"We will get problems of threatened supply availability, if we impose a price ceiling. We must remember that this is essentially an imported commodity and the moment international price is higher than the ceiling, then who will import unless it is subsidized? So if it has to be subsidized, then the Department of Finance (DOF), will have to answer whether in fact they can subsidize it," he said.

He pointed out that the proposal to include petroleum products in the price ceiling would be warmful not only to the consumers but also to the whole industry.

"You're trying to address a pricing problem but you end up a supply problem. And that will be more disastrous. That was what I was saying from the start," the Arroyo cabinet member said. - with a report from Carmela Fonbuena, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak