BAGUIO City Representative Marquez Go wants the House of Representatives committee on energy to conduct an inquiry into the “alleged disparity and overpricing of fuel prices in Northern Luzon.”
Go announced this when he reported on his accomplishments before City Hall officials and employees led by Mayor Mauricio Domogan and Vice Mayor Edison Bilog recently.
In House Resolution No. 853 which was currently referred for study by the House committee on energy, Go said there is a prevailing disparity between the pump prices of fuel in the areas of Northern Luzon particularly in the province of La Union and Baguio City which is in fact questionable.
Go said the average gasoline price in Northern Luzon is P44 per liter but in Baguio, the cost has been observed to be higher by as much as P5 to P13 per liter since November last year.
As of February 8 this year, oil prices in Baguio remain at P53.80 per liter as against the P42.10 price in Rosario, La Union, he added and this is despite the distance of only approximately 60 kilometers between the city and the fuel source in Poro Point in San Fernando, La Union.
“Effective February 28, 2017, most of the oil companies implemented a P0.40/liter decrease in gasoline; diesel and kerosene increased by P0.35 and P0.30 a liter, respectively, but surprisingly, pump prices stay at high levels in Baguio City,” Go noted.
Go added initial inquiries from two top oil companies only “raised more questions as (their answers) only exposed the fact that under current pricing regime, the pump prices are apparently subject to manipulation by the market players that should be monitored by the government.”
“For instance, Petron claimed significant price differences are noted even between adjacent municipalities/provinces primarily driven by the number of competing retail outlets and the level of discounting is so big it merits further investigation,” he said.
Petron further explained La Union is one of the areas monitored to having substantially low prices, creating distortion in the market and forcing oil players to match prices to protect market share in the area.
“Chevron for its part said they only determine the wholesale price it sells to its retailers, which then enables their retailers to set whatever price they deem as appropriate in their local area. The same stated that it is ultimately the retailers’ decision as to what constitutes competitive pump prices in their areas,” Go added.
“The consumers in Northern Luzon areas deserve a full explanation on this matter to shed light on the situation as to the real formula in computing and determining fuel prices, which is an affront to the right of the consumers to a fair and reasonable access to oil products,” Go said.
Earlier, the city council conducted its own inquiry on the issue as called by Councilor Michael Lawana which was attended by various owners of gasoline stations operating in the city.
Those who attended attributed the high fuel prices in the city to the higher cost of transporting the fuel to the city due to distance and topography.
After the inquiry, the city council approved Resolution No. 52 series of 2017 requesting the Department of Energy, Philippine Competition Commission and the various owners of oil companies in the country to lower the prices of gasoline and oil products in the city. (Aileen Refuerzo/PIO)