Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson has expressed his support to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) move to mandate fuel price adjustments, saying it is better than leaving pricing entirely to oil firms, so long as rates remain reasonable.
“Dapat lang gamitin ng pamahalaan ang pagdeklara ng state of national energy emergency. As long as reasonable ang gagawing computation ng DOE sa pag adjust ng presyo – pagbaba man or pagtaas ng presyo ng pump prices, mas makakabuti sa mas nakakaraming Pilipino ang ganitong patakaran o polisiya kesa naman ipaubaya sa oil companies ang pagtatalaga ng presyo,” said Lacson.
For this week, the DOE ordered a minimum rollback of P24.94 per liter for diesel, P3.41 for gasoline, and P2.00 for kerosene. Firms may give bigger discounts, but smaller cuts will trigger legal action.
Violators may face charges under the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998, with penalties of up to one year in jail and fines of P50,000 to P300,000.
The DOE also warned it could suspend or revoke permits of non-compliant firms.
Lacson noted that Republic Act 8479, or the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act, allows the DOE to take over or direct oil industry operations during emergencies if public interest requires it.IMT
