PNoy tells oil firms: Open books to justify recent fuel price increases

(Updated: 6:18 p.m.) The President on Wednesday urged oil companies to open their financial records to public scrutiny, in the wake of oil price hikes that an Energy official has hinted are questionable. "Kung reasonable [ang price hikes], bakit hindi pwedeng ipakita [ang records]?" remarked President Benigno Aquino III in an interview with reporters after inspecting the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3. The President said he has kept this position since he started his career in public service, echoing the calls of militant groups for oil companies to open their financial books to show if their price increases are justified. Aquino also called attention to the process of determining pump prices, which he said is difficult to understand. “Kailangang i-simplify kung paano maintindihan ‘yung proseso ng determination nitong price," he said. “Mukhang maraming hindi nakaka-gets," he said. Aquino emphasized the need of including a variety of sectors in computing oil prices. He meanwhile said the Department of Energy (DOE) has been telling him that the process of determining pump prices has remained transparent. The director of the DOE Oil Industry Management Bureau, Zenaida Monsada, on Wednesday hinted that the series of price hikes were questionable as they were higher than the formula set by the Energy Regulatory Board. “Kailangang i-simplify kung paano maintindihan ‘yung proseso ng determination ng price, mukhang maraming hindi nakakagets," President Aquino said in light of this week’s oil price increases. Early this month, he turned down proposals by some sectors to slash the value-added tax by half as doing so would do the public less good and might lead to a higher consumption and later a higher demand for fuel and still higher prices. Instead, the Energy Department has pushed for a P500-million assistance program for the transport sector. IBON wants VAT repealed Also Wednesday, economic research group IBON Foundation said that repealing the VAT on oil will not hurt the economy, despite the claims of some economists. In a statement, the group said that a lower VAT will serve to “spur economic growth while mitigating effects of prices for ordinary Filipinos." The group said that the statement was a reaction to warnings made by several economic managers of previous administrations on the plan to implement “populist measures" such as the repeal of VAT, price controls, and the like. On Tuesday, the camp of former President and incumbent Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo criticized the current administration’s inability to keep gas prices down in the midst of a global increase in oil prices. [See: Arroyo camp hits Aquino for failing to keep fuel prices low] Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, meanwhile, said that gasoline prices are because of the world market and the Biofuels Act of 2006. “It’s not because we are not able to handle it, it is because of the realities of oil," he said. IBON also noted an “unexplained difference" between gasoline and diesel prices, as compared to global crude oil rates in the first quarter of 2011. Lacierda emphasized the transparency of the DOE, which required oil companies to submit a written explanation of the recent fuel price increase did not match the DOE estimates. “Anytime, kung may tanong po kayo kung bakit tumaas, handang magpaliwanag po ang ating oil companies," he said. A joint DOE-Department of Justice task force has been formed to investigate the fuel price hikes enforced starting this week by some oil companies. “[The task force] will require those companies who raised their prices higher than those numbers determined by the DOE to explain why their increases were higher," Lacierda said. [See: DOE joint task force probing latest oil price hike] On Tuesday, Shell, Chevron and Total raised fuel prices by P0.25 to P0.70. A day later, Chevron rolled back gas prices by as much as P0.70 per liter. http://www.gmanews.tv/story/218273/chevron-to-roll-back-fuel-prices-wednesday-noon Lacierda clarified that the task force will only evaluate and not regulate, the prices set by oil companies. “[The task force] will allow market prices to regulate the price," he said. With a report by Bea Cupin/PE/VS, GMA News