Gasoline prices up P7.10 per liter, diesel by P13.15 in 11th straight week of hikes Tuesday

Oil firms will implement a major price hike on Tuesday, marking the 11th straight week of increases with domestic pump prices already hitting P84.55 per liter in select areas across the country.

In separate advisories released on Monday afternoon, Chevron Philippines Inc. (Caltex), Flying V, Petron Corporation, and Seaoil Philippines Inc. said it they will increase prices per liter of gasoline by P7.10, diesel by P13.15, and kerosene by P10.50.

Cleanfuel, PTT Philippines Corporation, and Unioil Petroleum Philippines Inc. will implement the same changes, excluding kerosene which they do not carry.

The changes will take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, March 15, for both Caltex and Cleanfuel, and at 6:00 a.m. the same day for the rest of the firms. Other firms have yet to make similar announcements for the week.

Prices have been hiked in the past 10 weeks, and have only been on an upward movement so far this year.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has maintained that the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has hit global prices. The Philippines does not directly import from Russia, but sources its supply from other countries which in turn source their supply from the country.

Latest DOE data show that year-to-date adjustments stood at a total net increase of P13.25 per liter for gasoline, P17.50 per liter for diesel, and P11.40 per liter for kerosene as of March 8, 2022.

The same data revealed that prices in Metro Manila range from P59.85 per liter (Caloocan) to P84.55 per liter (Muntinlupa) for gasoline, and from P55.20 per liter (Pasig) to P73.39 per liter (Taguig) as of March 10, 2022.

For its part, the government has allocated some P2.5 billion to provide fuel vouchers for some 377,000 qualified public utility vehicle drivers across the country, amid the successive pump price hikes. 

Mitigation measures

The DOE has reiterated its call for local oil firms to look into measures that would ease the successive increases of domestic pump prices. According to DOE Oil Industry Management Bureau (OIMB) Assistant Director Rodela Romero, the department is calling on firms to look into implementing the increases on a staggered basis.

“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 Energy Department also proposed that local oil firms be mandated to keep a minimum inventory on a per product and per depot basis. The Oil Deregulation Law will need to be amended to allow this, OIMB Director Rino Abad told the Senate on Monday.

“If it will be adopted, the requirement would be on a per company (basis), so that would be basically the primary entry of petroleum products through refiner and direct importers,” he said. — RSJ/BM, GMA News