SENATOR Teofisto Guingona III, vice chair of the Committee on Energy, said Friday that he will push for a Senate inquiry into the disparity in the price of fuels and electricity in Negros Occidental.
Once he gets back to Manila, he will discuss the matter with Senator Serge Osmeña, who is the chairman of the Committee on Energy at the Senate, said.
"This is worrisome and the national government has to work on this," Guingona said upon learning about the fuel disparity in the province compared to other provinces which is pegged at P8 to P10 per liter.
Guingona pointed out that through the Senate inquiry, the alleged cartel of oil companies would be seriously investigated.
The presence of more small players in the oil industry is a factor of healthy competition because small players do not join the cartel. He added that the problem must be addressed because of a threat in the sugar industry in 2015 when tariffs of sugar would be low as five percent.
Fuel is one of the major factors in sugar production, especially in hauling sugarcanes to the sugar mills, Guingona said.
rNo transport strike
Transport groups in Negros Occidental, meanwhile, assured that there will be no transport strike on Monday and they will hold a protest to condemn and demand from the government to address the higher price of fuels in the province and the continued increase of pump prices.
The decision was made by local transport groups despite Piston, one of the major transport groups in Manila, to conduct a national transport strike on Monday.
rThe same decision of holding only a protest, instead of a transport strike, was made by the United Negros Drivers and Operators Center (Undoc) and the Federation of Bacolod Drivers Association.
Undoc will hold a protest and members will wear black armed bonds to express their claim.
The decision not to hold a transport strike was agreed upon by the business and transport leaders during a multi-sectoral meeting where they discussed the present problem of higher price of fuels in the province.