Proposed changes to oil deregulation law to benefit Filipinos

MANILA – The chairman of the House Committee on Energy on Wednesday said the proposed amendments to the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act would help Filipino consumers, particularly the poor and vulnerable, to cope with the surging fuel prices.

Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel Macapagal Arroyo said the panel-approved bill that would amend Republic Act 8479 would prevent oil companies from raising prices of old stock and require oil players to increase their minimum inventory to prevent fluctuations in local fuel prices.

Arroyo said fuel prices continued to soar amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict that disrupted global oil supply, subjecting local fuel prices to weekly changes reflecting the “highly volatile geopolitical situation” in Eastern Europe.

“Any large adjustment in oil prices makes it difficult for businesses and consumers to adjust quickly, thereby causing disruptions,” Arroyo said in an interview.

He said among the main reasons why the oil industry was deregulated include stabilizing and providing reasonable prices; encouraging competition; encouraging investments; and removing cross-product subsidies.

The committee report substituted House Bill 10505 and House Resolution 1651 introduced by Arroyo; HB 4550 by Deputy Speaker Vilma Santos-Recto; HB 4771, HB 10386 and HR 9 by Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate; HB 5172 by Baguio City Rep. Mark Go; HB 5186 by Deputy Speaker Rodante Marcoleta; HB 7928 by APEC Party-list Rep. Sergio Dagooc; HB 8764 by Bohol Rep. Edgar Chatto and HR 390 by Deputy Minority Leader Stella Luz Quimbo.

Under the measure, the proposed amendments to RA 8479 include institutionalizing the minimum inventory requirements for petroleum products for purposes of supply security and unbundling the cost of petroleum, among others.

Quimbo proposed that a provision in the substitute bill be further revised to clearly reflect that the price monitoring system of the Department of Energy would be based on the unbundled retail price of the petroleum products.

“Unbundling the retail price of domestic petroleum product does not run counter to the principle of deregulation, and is, in fact, a tool to ensure its effectivity. Thus, the DOE must be mandated and capacitated to monitor the unbundled retail prices,” Quimbo said.

Quimbo also proposed to grant the President the power to suspend or decrease fuel excise tax rates when Dubai crude oil based on Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) pricing reaches USD80 per barrel.

“Finally, while we remain steadfast in our commitment to deregulation and competitive markets, we must also pass a measure which can be responsive to the needs of our people in times of shocks, calamities or wars. As we are constrained by the effects of supply and demand in a deregulated regime, we should not be left without the ability to have quick recourse when such effects result in the suffering of many Filipinos,” she said.

The panel also approved a motion for the Committee on Energy to request the President for a special session so that the bill will be approved and enacted immediately.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte earlier called on Congress to review the country’s oil deregulation law to give the government the power to intervene in the event of a spike in oil prices and to revisit the provisions on the unbundling of the price and the inclusion of the minimum inventory requirements in the law.