DOE’s answer to criticisms: ‘Unbundling’ of oil prices

The Department of Energy (DOE) is set to issue a new policy which will require oil companies to "unbundle" or detail the price adjustments it made on petroleum products amid criticisms that the department is "inutile" to control the spiking prices of fuel.

On Wednesday, DOE-Oil Industry Management Bureau director Rino Abad said the Energy Department is pushing to unbundle the prices of gasoline, diesel, kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas, jet fuel, and bunker fuel to give consumers a "sense of transparency."

"Ang gusto lang naman natin makita diyan, ano yung detalye ng amount. For example, if you are given P59 pump price for gasoline ano po yung laman niyan? Ano po yung detalye niyan at pano po niyo jinustify 'yan?" Rino told reporters at a press conference in Taguig City.

The new policy will require oil companies and retail outlets to provided data for unbundling their base price in a mandatory price display board.

The Energy official said unbundling is among the efforts that the DOE is doing to appease the public amid the continuous spike in the prices of petroleum products.

Abad, however, said the DOE cannot control the prices of fuel due to the existence of the Oil Deregulation Law.

"Ayaw ko tanggapin na inutil... kasi hindi talaga makontrol yan... kaya nga may ginagawang tayong undbundling," he said.

The Energy official said unbundling the prices will give consumers a grasp of what they are paying for and therefore "calm them down."

"Kumakalma po ang tao kapag naiintindihan nila at talaga namang dapat bayaran why not?" Abad said.

The new policy, which will come out as a memorandum circular, is expected to be released at the end of June this year.

Abad said focused group discussion with industry stakeholders are ongoing.

"This is a priority instruction from the secretary. We will finalize it as soon as possible," he said.

The DOE is mandated under Republic Act No. 8479, or the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998, to monitor both international and domestic price movements of petroleum products. — RSJ, GMA News