ROXAS HITS OIL FIRMS FOR SLOW PRICE REDUCTION
'ANG BILIS MAGTAAS PERO ANG BAGAL MAGBABA'

'ANG BILIS MAGTAAS PERO ANG BAGAL MAGBABA'

Liberal President Sen. Mar Roxas today scored oil companies for their slow reduction of domestic retail prices for gasoline, diesel and other oil products.

"Bakit ang bagal-bagal magbaba ng presyo ng mga kumpanya ng langis? Aba eh dapat pag magbaba ng presyo sa ibang bansa ay bagsak agad din dito sa Pilipinas (Why do the oil companies take a long time to lower prices? When prices abroad go down, they should lower prices here immediately)," Roxas said.

Roxas, chair of the Senate Trade and Commerce Committee, said a review of price movements in the Philippines indicated that prices have not been going down as fast as they are going down in the Asian/Dubai oil markets, where the Philippines sources most of its crude oil importations.

While prices in the Asian/Dubai market went down in August 2008 by an average of 13.89 percent, comparable pump prices in the Philippines went down only by 6.78 percent.

In September, crude oil prices went down by 11.9 percent, but local pump prices went down by only 5.46 percent.

This month, pump prices in the Philippines have gone down by an average of 7.7 percent as against a drastic 32.58 percent drop in crude oil prices in the Asian/Dubai oil markets.

"Isang malaking kasalanan na naman ito ni Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes sa ating mamamayan. Bakit hindi niya pwersahin ang mga kumpanya ng langis na buksan ang kanilang libro para makita ng gobyerno kung tama ba o hindi ang sinisingil nilang presyo? (This is a big sin committed by Secretary Angelo Reyes to our people. Why can't he force the oil companies to open their books so we can see if they are charging us fairly?)" Roxas fumed.

"Parang mas takot si Secretary Reyes sa mga kumpanya ng langis kesa sa ating mga Pilipino. O baka naman mas takot din ang Malacanang na buksan ang mga libro ng mga dambuhalang kumpanyang ito? (It seems Secretary Reyes is more afraid of offending the oil companies than the Filipino people. Or is Malacanang also more afraid to open the books of these giant companies?)," he asked.