'Big 3', Eastern Petroleum announce P1/L price cuts on Friday
Posted at 09/18/2008 4:40 PM | Updated as of 09/18/2008 4:40 PM
Petron Corp. and Chevron Philippines (formerly Caltex) announced on Thursday that it will also implement a P1 per liter rollback in the pump prices of their gasoline, diesel and kerosene products effective 12:01 a.m. Friday.
Petron and Chevron follow Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. which announced on Wednesday a P1 per liter price rollback in its gasoline, diesel and kerosene products effective 12:01 a.m. Friday also.
Petron said its rollback would be implemented “to reflect the continued softening of international oil prices."
Eastern Petroleum Corp. is also set to lower anew by P0.50 per liter the prices of its diesel, gasoline and kerosene effective 12:01 a.m. Friday. Eastern Petroleum and Seaoil Philippines Inc. implemented a P0.50 per liter reduction in their pump prices Wednesday.
Higher cuts
Socioeconomic planning Secretary Ralph Recto meanwhile joined calls for oil companies to rollback prices by P5 per liter citing significant drop in world prices.
Pilipinas Shell however countered that a higher rollback would have been possible had they been previously allowed, when crude prices were increasing, to have been able to recover their costs with higher increases also.
World crude prices have decreased significantly to levels below 100 dollars per barrel after peaking last July at 147 dollars per barrel.
"Insult" to drivers
Activist transport group Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON) meanwhile has called the P0.50 per liter price rollback implemented Wednesday “an insult” to drivers and the Filipino people.
PISTON has been calling on oil companies and the government to implement a P7 per liter rollback in pump prices of petroleum products.
The activist group has blamed the government’s implementation of Value-Added Tax on petroleum products, Oil Deregulation Law and so-called connivance between the government and oil companies for the high oil prices in the country.
"Ang pag-iral ng deregulasyon at kawalan ng regulasyon ang sanhi ng pandadaya sa presyuhan na ginagawa ng mga oil companies sa presyo ng petrolyo. Ang gobyerno at Department of Energy, sa halip na protektahan ang interes ng taumbayan ang siyang umaaktong tagapagsalita at tagapagtanggol ng mga oil companies. Nililinlang pa tayo ng gobyerno at Department of Energy sa pagkakalat ng kasinungalingang gumagana daw ang deregulasyon dahil may umiiral daw na kumpetisyon sa pagitan ng mga oil companies,” said George San Mateo, PISTON secretary general, in a statement. With reports from Alvin Elchico and Liza Reyes, ABS-CBN News
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