Saturday, September 20, 2008 Editorials: Tackling oil prices, fare rates
HYPOCRISY is observable in transport groups threatening to launch a nationwide strike to force oil firms to lower further the prices of petroleum products while they themselves have refused demands by commuters to lower fare rates.
The setup wherein prices of oil have dropped considerably in the world market and yet oil firms in the country are only leisurely implementing their own price reductions is no less condemnable, of course.
Anger is building up and oil firms should consider the consequences of the abuse.
Responsibility
But that does not mean that the public should just play blind to the refusal of transport groups, who usually seek the understanding and support of commuters when they demand fare hikes, to also own up to their responsibility.
The point is that the people should benefit from the plunge in the international price of petroleum products in much the same way that they suffered when prices soared.
It’s not that the price of gasoline has not gone down.
It has, only that the reduction is not comparable to that of world prices, making condemnation of oil firms in the country on the matter of pricing justifiable.
But the oil price reduction is substantial enough to be reflected in fare rates, though the mark down may not be as big as, say, the P2 fare hike imposed by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) in Central Visayas months ago.
For transport groups not to be seen as hypocrites, therefore, they must open themselves up to the possibility of fare rates being slashed even as they push the oil firms to come up with reasonable reduction in the prices of petroleum products.
Methodology
Officials of concerned government agencies, on the other hand, should not look the other way or even clap their hands as transport groups and commuters quarrel.
The Department of Energy and LTFRB should look into gasoline pricing in the country and the manner fare rates are being decided on considering the volatility of prices of petroleum products in the world market.
This is not the first time this situation happened and it is a no brainer that a similar situation will happen in the future, so that if these officials are competent they should find ways to improve methodology in pegging fare rates and preventing oil pricing abuse.
