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Saturday, November 03, 2007
Strong peso deflects rising oil cost: Palace
MANILA -- Malacañang said the latest increase in the prices of oil products in the world market should serve as a wake-up call for everyone, including critics, to work with government in finding alternative sources of energy and learning to conserve what sources are available.
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Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said politics should be set aside in favor of working together to find alternative energy sources and provide the necessary environment for their development.
"The runaway price of oil is beyond the government's control. This serve as a continuing wake-up call for all sectors that there are more things to attend to other than relentless politics of personal destruction," he said.
"More than ever, now is the time to pool our collective patriotic efforts to intensify the search and development of alternative energy sources, as well as provide the appropriate legal environment to accelerate such initiatives," he added.
Bunye said everyone should also contribute in any way they can to conserve energy.
He acknowledged that had the peso still been at the P56 levels, the impact of rising oil prices would have been much worse.
"Our resilient economy gives us some consolation. Had we still been in a situation where our peso is 56 to a dollar the price of our imports would by now be hitting the roof," he added.
Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo reiterated that the government had been drawing up measures, including the drafting of tariff cuts for oil firms, to cushion the impact of the rising prices.
Saludo said everyone should do their share to conserve energy, including Congress, which should work on the passage of important bills that would help lower cost of living like the Cheaper Medicines Bill and the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) amendments.
He said the Epira amendments would specifically allow "open access which could cut power rates for big users."
The prices of oil in the world market rose to US$96 a barrel following a drop in US crude stockpiles, weakening of US dollar, and onset of the winter season.
Analysts warned that prices might still rise to US$100 per barrel after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) continued to resist calls for more oil production. (JMR/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Zamboanga. (November 3, 2007 issue)
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