ANGELES CITY – An activist group accused oil companies of “heartlessness on Valentines Day” after lovers on their way to their dates yesterday were confronted with yet another round of increases in fuel prices.
“Valentines Day is supposed to be a day for celebration of love, humanity and redemption. But the oil cartel jacked up prices of oil products anew,” the fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) national chairman Fernando Hicap said .
Oil companies imposed yesterday a 40 centavo increase in the price of gasoline per liter and 80 centavo hike in the price of diesel per liter. Since January, total oil price hike for gasoline is P 3.40 per liter and P 2.10 for diesel per liter.
Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said “all efforts to effectively curb oil cartel operations and schemes are being shot down by Malacañang to avoid political confrontation with the ruling oil syndicate in the country headed by Pilipinas Shell, Chevron and Petron.”
“The 40 centavo increase in the price of gasoline per liter and the 80 centavo hike in the price of diesel was Aquino’s Valentine gift to the Filipino people,” said Hicap.
This, even as Hicap slammed Batanes Rep. Herminia Abad for not acting on nearly 10 house bills and 10 resolutions, all designed to curb the impact of fuel price increases in the country.
The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and Pamalakaya said the bills and resolutions have remained mothballed since September last year in the House energy committee chaired by Abad, wife of Budget Sec. Florencio Abad.
Since January this year the oil firms have already raised the pump price of diesel by P1.30 per liter, unleaded gasoline by P3.10, and an 11-kg LPG tank by P 115.50, Pamalakaya said.
Pamalakaya chairman Fernando Hicap said, “Rep. Abad has snubbed all the proposals calling for review and repeal of Oil Deregulation Law and congressional inquiries on the alleged overpricing and price manipulative schemes implemented by oil companies under the deregulated oil industry.”
“Please allow us to remind Rep. Abad that there are nine house bills and eight urgent resolutions waiting concrete and immediate action from the House Committee on Energy which she has chaired since the 15th session of Congress. She is not doing her job,” Hicap said.
He recalled that in March last year, Bayan Muna party list Rep. Teddy Casino and Anakpawis party list Rep. Rafael Mariano filed House Bills 4335 and 4317 calling for the immediate repeal of Oil Deregulation Law.
Mariano had also filed last year House Resolution 1779 urging the same committee to investigate the impact of unbridled increases in the prices of petroleum products on 1.3 million small-scale fisherfolk.
“Rep. Abad should listen to the demand of the people to scrap the oil deregulation act and stop the increases in the prices of petroleum products. But she has not made any headway as chair of the House Committee on Energy. She is like a white elephant in Congress,” added Hicap.
Pamalakaya noted that aside from Casino and Mariano, other congressmen also filed separate bills and resolutions calculated to curb fuel price hikes, noting that Reps. Rufus Rodriguez and Maximo Rodriguez also filed House Bill 2569 also calling for the repeal of oil deregulation law and the re-establishment of Oil Price Stabilization Fund (OPSF).
The group also noted that Rep. Winnie Castelo also filed House Bill 5295 calling for the repeal of oil deregulation law, while Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez asked to regulate the oil industry and re-establishment of OPSF under House Bill 00347.
Other similar bills filed in Congress were those of Rep. JV Ejercito (HB 3267), Rep. Romeo Acop and Angelo Palomones (Agham party list) all calling for amendments of RA 8479, Hicap said.
Pamalakaya stressed that there are also two house bills calling for the suspension of expanded value added tax imposed on oil, namely House Bill 02806 also filed by Rep. Rodriguez) and House Bill 04554 by Rep. Theresa Bonoan, also awaiting action by Abad’s committee.
Also still pending before the committee are resolutions authored by Rep. Ben Evardone, Gabriela partylist Rep. Luz Ilagan, and Rep. Roilo Golez, seeking probe on the continuing rise in fuel prices.
Pamalakaya, which has been batting for the repeal of oil deregulation law, noted that already, fuel constitutes 80 pecent of the expenses of small fisherfolk in fishing.
“There are 313,985 small fishing boat operators in the country who spend P300 to P600 for oil per fishing trip, compared to P180 they spent for oil consumption per fishing in 2001,” Hicap said.
“The weekly increases in the prices of petroleum products have pushed small fishermen operating small motorized boats to reduce fishing hours from the normal eight to 12 hours, to only four to eight hours because of the high prices of gasoline and other oil products”, he noted.
He also said a significant number of fishermen have cut fishing activities per week from the usual six days to three to four days a week due to the high cost of fuel.
Many of them are turning to other jobs, mostly as construction workers or tricycle drivers.
