No partial lifting of oil price caps – Palace
11/07/2009 | 12:12 AM
Malacañang on Friday denied reports that it was considering the partial lifting of price caps on oil prices, which it imposed in areas devastated by the recent cyclones in the country.
Press Secretary Cerge Remonde made the denial at a press briefing, after acting Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said on Thursday the Palace was contemplating a partial lifting of Executive Order 839, which froze oil prices in Luzon at their October 15 levels.
Devanadera had also said the Department of Justice and Department of Energy’s Joint Task Force on Oil would be discussing with business groups whether the emergency situation that had led to the EO’s issuance was still present.
Remonde however explained that such recommendations were never made and that Devanadera merely gave an update on the freeze order.
"What Secretary Devanadera was saying is the joint task force is continuously monitoring the supply and prices of oil products and that it is also continuously holding dialogues with oil players. But definitely they are not making any recommendation," Remonde said.
The press secretary likewise cautioned oil players against issuing “grim warnings" and “dire predictions" because “it was not helping."
In their letter to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the oil firms said the EO poses an “imminent danger to the economy, business and employment" and “far outweighs the intended benefits."
The firms added that the move “carries disastrous short- and long-term risks for the whole country, including eventually the very people we want to help."
They also bared the possibility of imposing as much as P4.50 per liter increase on petroleum products once the price cap is scrapped.
Remonde said he did not want to engage in a word war with the oil firms but stressed that the price cap was for the welfare of the victims of cyclones Ondoy (Ketsana) and Pepeng (Parma).
He assured that the government would look into the P3.50 per kilo increase in liquefied petroleum gas prices in the Visayas and Mindanao, which took effect Friday morning.
“If not justified, the Department of Trade and Industry (would) exercise its power within the law to protect the interest and the right of the consumers," he said. – Aie Balagtas See, GMANews.TV
Press Secretary Cerge Remonde made the denial at a press briefing, after acting Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said on Thursday the Palace was contemplating a partial lifting of Executive Order 839, which froze oil prices in Luzon at their October 15 levels.
Devanadera had also said the Department of Justice and Department of Energy’s Joint Task Force on Oil would be discussing with business groups whether the emergency situation that had led to the EO’s issuance was still present.
Remonde however explained that such recommendations were never made and that Devanadera merely gave an update on the freeze order.
"What Secretary Devanadera was saying is the joint task force is continuously monitoring the supply and prices of oil products and that it is also continuously holding dialogues with oil players. But definitely they are not making any recommendation," Remonde said.
The press secretary likewise cautioned oil players against issuing “grim warnings" and “dire predictions" because “it was not helping."
In their letter to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the oil firms said the EO poses an “imminent danger to the economy, business and employment" and “far outweighs the intended benefits."
The firms added that the move “carries disastrous short- and long-term risks for the whole country, including eventually the very people we want to help."
They also bared the possibility of imposing as much as P4.50 per liter increase on petroleum products once the price cap is scrapped.
Remonde said he did not want to engage in a word war with the oil firms but stressed that the price cap was for the welfare of the victims of cyclones Ondoy (Ketsana) and Pepeng (Parma).
He assured that the government would look into the P3.50 per kilo increase in liquefied petroleum gas prices in the Visayas and Mindanao, which took effect Friday morning.
“If not justified, the Department of Trade and Industry (would) exercise its power within the law to protect the interest and the right of the consumers," he said. – Aie Balagtas See, GMANews.TV
