Amendment of Oil Deregulation Law unlikely in last months of Duterte admin —DOE exec

It may be difficult to approve amendments to the Oil Deregulation Law before the end of the term of President Rodrigo Duterte as lawmakers shift their focus on the upcoming elections, the Department of Energy (DOE) said Monday.

According to DOE Undersecretary Gerardo Erquiza Jr., the review of the Oil Deregulation Law is still under deliberations in both chambers of Congress, with only months left before the current administration ends its term.

“Sa aming estimate ay medyo mahihirapan na, kasi iba ‘yung priorities ngayong eleksyon at pagkatapos ng eleksyon eh siyempre canvassing, then they have to go around of course and maybe thank their constituencies and maybe even take lighter loads,” he said during the Laging Handa virtual briefing.

(In our estimates it will be difficult for any amendments to be passed because priorities have shifted this election season and after the polls, canvassing, then they have to go around of course and maybe thank their constituencies and maybe even take lighter loads.)

Malacañang last month said it is already time for Congress to look into the Oil Deregulation Law, with the successive increases of pump prices of petroleum products.

The House of Representatives’ committee on energy already approved amendments to the law, institutionalizing the country’s minimum inventory requirement and pushing for the unbundling of domestic prices.

Domestic pump prices have been on an uptrend in 13 out of the past 16 weeks, which the DOE has attributed to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, along with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in China which have driven demand.

Latest data available from the Department of Energy (DOE) indicate that adjustments stand at a net increase of P15.45 per liter for gasoline, P27.35 per liter for diesel, and P21.55 per liter for kerosene as of April 19, 2022.

Data from the same agency show that prices in Metro Manila range from P64.20 per liter (Quezon City) to P86.75 per liter (Muntinlupa City) for gasoline, and P65.25 per liter (Quezon City) to P79.95 per liter (Pasig City) for diesel as of April 21, 2022.—AOL, GMA News