Sustained oil price increases seen: DOE

By Maria Romero

The Department of Energy does not see any immediate reprieve to the persistently high fuel prices, with diesel and gasoline already sold at P100 per liter in some areas in the country.
    In a television interview on Wednesday, DoE-attached Oil Industry Management Bureau director Rino Abad said motorists should expect sustained oil price hikes in the coming weeks.
    “We do not see any event to offset the series of price hikes, so we expect these to continue in the next few weeks,” he said.
    Abad noted that the growing demand in the Northern Hemisphere countries due to the summer peak period from June to September pushed up the prices.
    Russian oil ban by the European Union and the easing of lockdown in China, which is projected to increase the oil demand, also affected the prices.
    This week, local oil companies announced that diesel prices surged by a whopping P6.55 per liter and gasoline prices by P2.70 per liter. Kerosene prices, on the other hand, increased by P5.45 per liter.
    DoE data as of 31 May showed that the year-to-date adjustments of fuel prices stood at a net increase of P30.30 per liter of diesel, P23.85 per liter of gasoline, and P27.65 per liter of kerosene.
    Following this week’s hike, some stations in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan reportedly sell fuel for P100 per liter. Motorists feared that the same price may also be applied to fuel sold in Metro Manila.
    However, Abad explained that prices in Palawan, or other provinces, are around P6 to P8 higher due to higher transportation costs amid a lack of adequate import terminals.
    Considering these factors, he argued that the reported prices in Palawan were only fair and not overpriced.
    The transportation sector has been pressing the government to temporarily suspend the excise tax on fuel to significantly slash the high prices of fuel.
    Instead, the government released fuel subsidies to qualified public utility vehicles (PUV) operators and drivers.
    Based on the data from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board as of 1 June, 180,061 PUV operators have been given a fuel subsidy, or an estimated P1,170,396,500 has been disbursed.