No price cap on oil despite El Niño - Palace

There will be no price cap on oil products in areas severely affected by the El Niño dry spell, a Malacañang official said Thursday. The government, however, will monitor increases in the prices of petroleum products to ensure that they follow global market changes, said presidential spokesman Ricardo Saludo. Saludo said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has also directed the Department of Energy (DoE) to meet with officials of oil companies to ensure that the supply of petroleum products is sufficient, and that increases in oil prices are justified. “We already have problems due to the El Niño phenomenon. We don’t want anything more to add to that. We just want to see whether there’s any action or any coordination that may be possible to try and avoid any further burdens on our people especially from higher prices," Saludo said at a press briefing in Malacañang. Oil products cost around $82 per barrel in the world market. A liter of diesel currently costs P34 per liter in the country. The Philippines is expected to suffer agricultural losses in the coming months due to the El Niño phenomenon, which is projected to bring much drier weather to the country by April. - AC/KBK, GMANews.TV