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BUSINESSMAN and consumer advocate Raul T. Concepcion
expressed alarm Monday over the P1-per-liter increase in
the price of petroleum products over the weekend.
In a
statement,
Concepcion said the Department of Energy (DOE) knew the oil inventories
and value of oil purchased per shipment because of its
access to every shipment of crude oil imported by
refiners Petron Corp. and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum
Corp. as well as oil refiners on the part of Chevron
Philippines Inc., Total (Philippines)
Corp. and other new players.
Concepcion, who chairs the Consumer and Oil Price Watch
(COPW), said such data are being provided by the Bureaus
of Customs (BOC) and of Internal Revenue (BIR) to the
DOE.
He
pointed out that the DOE and the DOE-Department of
Justice (DOJ) task force can easily verify the volume of
oil inventories and the value of the oil that was
purchased per shipment.
According to the Department of Energy (DOE), oil
benchmark Dubai crude averaged $111.85 per barrel this
month from $103.41 per barrel in April.
The DOE
also noted that Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS)-based
gasoline averaged $122.37 per barrel this month from
$118.08 per barrel in April, while MOPS-based diesel
averaged $146.34 per barrel this month, from $141.98 per
barrel in April.
“With
these data the DOE-DOJ task force will know when the oil
companies’ oil inventory is exhausted and, most
important, when local pump prices should reflect the
increase in oil purchases,” said
Concepcion.
He
explained that with these data, the issue of
underrecoveries of P6 per liter on the pump price for
diesel and P2 per liter for gasoline can be address with
finality, as the general public is apprehensive as to
when will these underrecoveries end.
Concepcion
reiterated his call for public disclosure and
transparency by the oil companies and the DOE and
particularly the DOE-DOJ task force to avoid the
perception that oil companies are quick to increase
local pump prices when the world oil prices are rising
and yet slow to lower prices when world prices are low.
Concepcion
said the COPW supports the position of Energy Secretary
Angelo T. Reyes to use part of the proceeds from the VAT
in May and June to cushion the dramatic increase in oil
prices and revisit it in July whether there is a need to
continue to subsidize the cost of fuel.
Reyes
earlier said that he will also exert his best effort in
finding a solution to cushion the impact of skyrocketing
fuel prices on the consumers.
Reyes
said he would discuss with the government’s economic
managers the possibility of finding a way in temporarily
suspending the 12-percent expanded value-added tax
(E-VAT) on petroleum products, as suggested by
lawmakers.
He added
the 12-percent E-VAT is mandated by law and the
Executive branch could not have it scrapped. “It [repeal
or amendment of the E-VAT Law] will need Congress’
approval,” Reyes said.
Officials of oil companies said they can look into
lowering the level of price increases to just 50
centavos per liter instead of P1, but claimed they still
have to recoup P6 in under-recoveries in the price of
diesel. |
