Fuel price cap to stay as long as Luzon is in a state of calamity, Palace says

A presidential edict capping fuel prices will remain in force as long as Luzon, the Philippines’ largest island, is still in a state of calamity. This was emphasized by deputy presidential spokesman Lorelei Fajardo on Tuesday after the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) asked the termination date of Executive Order 839. The order, which directs oil companies keep fuel prices at October 15 levels, has been opposed by virtually all business groups, including the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). “For as long as there is a state of calamity in Luzon, then the price control of oil will remain," Fajardo said. The JFC echoed sentiments of business groups such as the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), Makati Business Club (MBC), and the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI). All of them said the oil price freeze would have an adverse effect on business. Earlier, BSP deputy governor Diwa C. Guinigundo said that it will result in a price surge in the future. The Department of Energy-Department of Justice Joint Task Force is currently conducting consultations with the business groups, Fajardo said. The task force is also reviewing the price ceiling before making its recommendations to the President, she added. Deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar said “[t]he EO is justified by the state of calamity and may be lifted on a time schedule independent of the state of calamity," he said. Continue price controls For their part, lawmakers dared Malacañang to continue imposing price controls despite threats that oil companies would cancel fuel imports that may result in a shortage. “It's a threat that the government has to meet head on," Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr said in a text message to GMANews.TV. “She [President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo] issued the EO, now she has to enforce it or she'll appear like a wimp." Senator Francis Escudero said the Palace should not be pressured by business and other interest groups. “Why can’t these oil companies wait until our people have recovered from these disasters? This is, after all, a remedial and temporary action by government," he said. The senator, who is eyeing the presidency, also urged his colleagues in the Congress to speedily act on proposals that intend to review the oil deregulation law. Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo said giving in to oil firms' demands would be "another point proving the weakness and ineffectiveness of the administration in protecting the public interest." "The oil cartel and their partners have been chafing at the bit because their profiteering has been reined in. Their arguments against price controls are blatantly self-serving and do not serve the public good," he said in a statement. In the meantime, House Speaker Prospero Nograles, said he would be amenable to lifting EO 839 temporarily as long as oil companies agree to a full disclosure of their inventories and importation records that will justify any price adjustment. “The only way we can have the most accurate conclusion is for the oil firms to open their books and show the public that all the negative things attributed to them are just misperceptions," Nograles said in a statement. - With Johanna Camille L. Sisante, GMANews.TV