'Gasoline overpriced by P8/liter'

MANILA, Philippines - The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is insisting that gasoline and other oil products in the Philippines are overpriced by as much as P8 per liter.

In a position paper submitted to the House energy committee last Wednesday, the NEDA said based on its       computation, gasoline should be selling for only P32 per liter instead of P41.

It said it has presented to the Department of Energy (DOE) and the oil companies its “methodology” in making its computation for comparison but that the oil firms refused to reveal their pricing formula. It said its figures were based on data from the DOE and the oil companies themselves.

NEDA chief Economic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto and Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes have been at loggerheads over oil pricing.

The DOE earned the ire of congressmen during Wednesday’s hearing for saying that the latest oil price hike should be P5 and not P2 per liter.

At the committee hearing chaired by presidential son Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo, the DOE said the public should be happy and thankful for last Monday’s P2 per liter adjustment in gas prices since oil products should be selling at P5 more.

DOE Director Zenaida Monsada denied that these products are selling beyond reasonable prices.

On the contrary, she said domestic prices are lower than what they should be if based on the cost of importing oil products from Singapore, where most importers source their finished products, and that gasoline should be selling at P45 per liter and diesel at P33 per liter.

NEDA recommended that Congress give DOE and the Department of Justice (DOJ) more powers to check overpricing to protect the public from unfair practices.

Arroyo described the recommendations as “interesting but we will return to regulation if we adopt these.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Arroyo said Shell, Petron and Chevron must comply with the order of Judge Silvino Pampilo Jr. of the Manila RTC branch 26 to open its financial books to the government.

He urged the BIR, BOC and COA to start examining the cash and delivery receipts, sales invoices, disbursement books and purchase order slips of the oil firms.

Malacañang, meanwhile, admitted yesterday that it is in a jam on how to push the audit of the books of the “Big Three” oil firms without violating the law.

Deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez said the BIR and the BOC are actually already in effect conducting an audit.

“But in the case of the COA, there lies the problem,” he said, adding the COA is mandated to conduct audits only on public agencies. - With Paolo Romero and Delon Porcalla