Negros Occidental biz, transport groups: DoE fails to address fuel price disparity

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines  - The consultative meeting held here Wednesday night ended with failure of Energy Undersecretary Jose Layug Jr and the Department of Energy to address concerns over high fuel price disparity in Negros Occidental, according to business and transport officials in the city and province.

"We're very, very disappointed with Layug and the DoE," said Jesse Ortega, secretary general of United Negros Drivers and Operators Center (UNDOC) and Frank Carbon, president of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI).

Layug, who came to the meeting an hour and a half late, had allegedly no clear answers to their concerns except for answers like "I need further data" and "We will conduct more thorough reviews of your complaints," Carbon said.

The MBCCI has repeatedly brought the matter to the DoE since July 2009 to no avail, Carbon said, and in the latest meeting presented to Layug a chart of the fuel price disparity with Bacolod having much higher fuel rates than in Cebu, Dumaguete and Manila by P4.50 to P5 per liter.

Carbon added, Layug and his team had conducted a surprised inspection of Bacolod gas stations last February 16 and 17 this year and found out the same situation.

The MBCCI chart also showed how oil companies in Negros Occidental are selling diesel, unleaded gasoline and premium gasoline at exactly the same rates down to the last centavo, a situation that the group said has indicated a presence of a cartel.

Layug, however, countered that having the same price was not an indication of cartelization unless there is proof that the oil companies' officials talked to each other.

Ortega, for his part, said: "Layug kept on saying they are investigating the case but since February 17 during his visit here, nothing has been done and he keeps on saying the same thing. We're tired of empty promises. We don't trust him anymore."

He said that should the DoE could not resolve this after a week or two, then his group will "organize a more massive protest action until our complaints reach the attention of President Aquino."

The MBCCI and UNDOC yesterday held a protest action at the Fountain of Justice in this city to protest the price disparity. The two groups submitted position papers, through Layug, to Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras.

UNDOC has four demands for the DoE to accomplish: Investigation on unfair pricing of petroleum products; investigation on why the previous administration allowed oil companies to change pricing method from monthly to weekly basis; for the government to adjust eVAT imposition on petroleum products from 12 percent to six percent temporarily; and for government to demand explanations from oil companies why there is massive oil price hike despite that market forces showed otherwise.

For the first demand, Layug said, "We will go deeper into it by asking for more data and validating data. We will conduct more data gathering and if there is enough basis to file then we will do so. It needs a solid, fool-proof case."

For the second demand, Layug said, "We will talk to the very same people who were there in the past and get their statements."

For the third demand, Layug said, "The DoE is contemplating to create another team, to be composed of experts, to review the law on EVAT" but stressed that it is up to Congress to amend the law. (FREEMAN)