DOE asks oil firms to implement price hikes on staggered basis

The Department of Energy (DOE) reiterated its call for local oil firms to look into measures that would ease the successive increases of domestic pump prices in a bid to relieve the impact on consumers.

According to DOE Oil Industry Management Bureau Assistant Director Rodela Romero, the department called on firms to look into implementing the increases on a staggered basis.

“Patuloy ‘yung panawagan ng Department of Energy sa ating mga oil companies kung gumawa ng paraan para hindi naman matindi ang tama sa ating mga consumers,” she said in a report on GMA’s “24 Oras Weekend” on Sunday.

(The appeal of the Department of Energy continues for oil companies to look into ways to lessen the impact on our consumers.)

This comes as local oil firms last Tuesday hiked prices per liter of gasoline by P3.60, diesel by P5.85, and kerosene by P4.10, marking the 10th straight week of upward movement.

The latest data available from the Department of Energy (DOE) indicate that year-to-date adjustments stand at a total net increase of P8.75 per liter for gasoline, P10.85 per liter for diesel, and P9.55 per liter for kerosene as of February 22, 2022.

An industry source said that a big-time pump price hike could be implemented next week — gasoline to possibly be hiked by P8.28 per liter, and diesel by P12.72 per liter.

“Kung ikukumpara mo ‘yung trading nitong nakaraang linggo versus the two weeks before, ‘yung comparison natin week-on-week talagang malaki iyong sinipa nitong linggo na ito,” Romero said.

(If you compare the trading this week versus the trading two weeks before, the comparison is on a week-on-week basis, the movement was really big this week.)

The government allocated some P2.5 billion for public utility driver fuel subsidies, while the Department of Transportation (DOTr) has a service contracting program that pays drivers in exchange for providing services to commuters for free. — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/DVM, GMA News