MANILA, Philippines — The transport strike entered its fourth week as drivers’ groups intensified calls for a rollback in fuel prices. At the current world market rate, fuel prices should range from P70 to P75 per liter, said Manibela chairperson Mar Valbuena.
Piston national president Mody Floranda echoed the view, noting that fuel sold locally was bought at cheaper prices, implying it is “overpriced.”
“We have 50 to 60 days of supply so what is the reason for them to increase the prices on fuel,” Floranda said.
Valbuena and Floranda said the Department of Energy’s (DOE) imposition of minimum rollbacks and maximum price increases came too late.
Sen. Rodante Marcoleta called on the government to force oil companies to refund consumers if probes confirm they manipulated prices for windfall profits.
He upheld his estimate that petroleum firms earn up to P3 billion daily by prematurely applying “replacement costs” to existing stocks.
Neither oil firms nor the DOE have disputed his figures, he noted.
“If it is not true that they are earning P3 billion every day, why have they not objected? Silence is acquiescence. Silence is admission,” Marcoleta said at the Kapihan sa Manila Hotel forum.
