Councilor urges Energy department closure

Thursday, February 23, 2012

A CAGAYAN de Oro legislator is keen to ask the government to abolish the Department of Energy (DOE) saying it is “inutile” from preventing fuel price increases despite price freeze request in disaster-affected areas.

Around 11 a.m. Wednesday, prices of premium and unleaded gasoline went higher by P1.15 per liter and diesel by P.50 in Cagayan de Oro.

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Councilor President D. Elipe said the City Government had requested the DOE to spare Cagayan de Oro from fuel price increases due to the effect of Tropical Storm Sendong last December 2011.

“I think the government must already abolish the DOE because it can’t even act on a (necessary) request to defend the price freeze order of the government following the declaration of (Sendong) affected areas under state of calamity,” Elipe said over a television interview Wednesday.

Elipe, city council’s chairperson of the committee on energy and environment, said DOE made the City Government upset for saying it would respect the government’s declaration and halt petroleum companies from raising the prices of their products.

“But still the DOE is inutile to act on our request,” he added. “They (DOE) don’t even heed to our agreement that they would always contact me whenever there are movements in fuel prices, yet until now, there is no feedback.”

Elipe noted the series of fuel price increases in the city since Monday until Wednesday despite the City Government’s request to fuel companies to temporarily hold over.

He said the committee and Mayor Vicente Emano would convene and act to the concern accordingly.

“We cannot afford to close shop these fuel companies. We would be sacrificing the public in their fuel needs,” he said.