Gasoline, Diesel Prices Now More Than Double

As of January 2007, the prevailing pump price of gasoline and diesel is now more than twice their price when President Gloria Arroyo took over in January 2001.

BY IBON Foundation
Posted by Bulatlat

As of January 2007, the prevailing pump price of gasoline and diesel is now more than twice their price when President Gloria Arroyo took over in January 2001.

Compared with their respective levels before the downstream oil industry was deregulated in April 1996, the pump price of gasoline is now more than six times higher while that of diesel is more than eight times higher. In addition, the current pump price of gasoline and diesel is almost four times and five times, respectively of their price at the start of deregulation. These figures also show that 62.98 percent of the increases in the pump price of gasoline and 57.63 percent of the increases in the pump price of diesel since the oil industry was deregulated happened under the term of Arroyo. (See Table 1)

The Arroyo government can of course argue that the oil price increases during its watch were very steep due to developments in the world oil market that are beyond its control. But government should be held accountable because of its deregulation policy that allowed domestic oil prices to soar. Since the oil industry was deregulated, there have been at least 81 rounds of oil price hikes (OPH) for diesel or an average of more than eight OPH rounds per year compared with only one round annually before the industry was deregulated. In 2005 and 2006 alone, at least 36 rounds of OPH for diesel have been recorded. (See Table 2)

If only to check the uncontainable price increases of oil products, which soared tremendously during its watch, the Arroyo government should have long repealed Republic Act (RA) 8479 or the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998.

Unfortunately, it continued to implement this flawed policy while misleading the public that the solution lies in its alternative fuels program such as RA 9367 or the Biofuels Act of 2006. Such program, however, does not answer the urgent problem of frequent oil price hikes and exorbitant prices and only serves the interests of landlords and big businessmen involved in the sugar and coconut industries, including Arroyo’s own family. IBON Foundation/posted by(Bulatlat.com)