SP Sotto seeks total repeal of Oil Deregulation Law

Senate President Vicente Sotto III has filed a measure seeking for the total repeal of the Oil Deregulation Law, giving the authority to regulate oil prices back to the Philippine government. 

Sotto filed Senate Bill No. 1984 amid the surge in oil prices as a result of the conflict in the Middle East. 

“It is high time to give back to the state the authority to manage fuel prices. Now that our petroleum prices are directly impacted by the geopolitical tension in the Middle East, transparency, scrutiny and uniformity in pricing are needed more than ever,” the Senate President said in the explanatory note of the bill.

Under Republic Act 8479, formally known as the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998, government control is removed to help oil companies become more competitive with their supply and pricing of petroleum products.

But before the enactment of the law, Sotto pointed out that the Energy Regulatory Board set petroleum prices based on global oil costs and exchange rates, with the Oil Price Stabilization Fund absorbing fluctuations to prevent changes in pump prices.

The Senate on Tuesday unanimously approved on third and final reading the measure granting emergency powers to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. so that he may suspend or reduce the fuel excise taxes amid the conflict in the Middle East.

The measure grants the President emergency powers when the average Dubai crude oil price exceeds $80 per barrel for one month immediately preceding the suspension or reduction of the excise tax. 

The House of Representatives on Monday approved its counterpart measure on third and final reading. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News