DOE Secretary Garin urges probe on oil firms' 'anti-competitive behavior'

Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Sharon Garin on Friday affirmed that the "possible collusion" of oil firms on weekly fuel price adjustments should be investigated.

In a Palace press briefing, Garin said the DOE has coordinated with the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) to check if there are indeed ''anti-competitive behavior'' among oil companies.

''I think ang issue is nag-uusap-usap ba sila kung ano iyong oil price hike. That is a behavior that should be investigated ‘noh. At kinausap po namin iyong PCC to check kung mayroon ngang anti-competitive behavior po among them,'' Garin said.

(I think the issue is on whether they are talking about oil price hike. That is behavior that should be investigated. We talked to the PCC to check if there are anti-competitive behaviors among oil firms.)

For the DOE's part, Garin said the agency can provide the information which the PCC needs. She also suggested it might be time to review the system for adjusting fuel product prices.

House Ways and Means panel chair Miro Quimbo on Thursday called on the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and the PCC to look into the "possible collusion" of oil companies when it comes to weekly fuel price adjustments.

Quimbo made the appeal after Secretary Arsenio Balisacan of the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DepDev) told the first hearing of the Legislative Energy Action and Development (LEAD) Joint Committee on Wednesday that regulators should exercise their powers to ensure that oil firms are playing fair.

Quimbo backed Balisacan, saying that stronger enforcement by the PCC and the ERC is in order particularly amid the ongoing oil crisis driven by the escalating tension in the Middle East. — BAP, GMA News