MANILA, Philippines—Civil society groups must focus its attention on oil smuggling, which costs the country between P25 billion to P35 billion a year in losses, rather than on oil companies, said former National Economic Development Authority (Neda) chief Solita Collas-Monsod.

At today’s hearing before the Manila City Regional Trial Court Branch 26, Monsod appeared as an amicus curae (friend of the court) and said: “The civil society organizations of goodwill should look into that because P25 billion to P35 billion lost a year is ridiculous and yet nobody (is looking into it), everyone is enjoying killing the oil companies. Wrong tree, you are barking at the wrong tree.”

She said that contrary to usual corresponding 1.2 percent growth in petroleum demand for every percentage growth in GDP, there was actually a decline in oil imported and produced in the country from 1998 to 2006. During the same period, the country’s GDP increased on average by 4.3 percent a year.

“So ano ibig sabihin noon (What does this mean)? It is clear as the laws on your face, something is terribly wrong and that is probably why the prices are higher in Cebu because the smuggling doesn’t get there,” she said.

She said that simultaneous increase in pump prices does not necessarily mean a conspiracy between the oil companies.

“They face the same situation, the (oil) companies are facing the same international market,” she added.

Monsod also noted that price of oil in the country is still relatively low compared to other countries, including Thailand, which raises pump prices daily.

Last week, the court listened to the testimony of Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes as another amicus curae. He maintained that the oil companies did not act as an oil cartel and manipulate prices.

The Social Justice Society (SJS) has charged the three largest oil companies in the company—Petron, Pilipinas Shell, and Chevron Corporation—with acting as an oil cartel. It also asked the court to stop the firms from raising the prices of petroleum products “on a weekly basis."

Last April, in a three-page order, the court cited public interest in granting a motion for the opening and examination of the books of accounts of the three oil companies.

It directed the Commission on Audit (CoA), the Bureau of Internal and Revenue (BIR), and the Bureau of Customs (BoC) to form a panel of examiners to “open and examine the cash receipts, cash disbursement books, purchase orders on the petroleum products, delivery receipts, sales invoices, and other related documents on the purchases of the petroleum products covering the period of January 2003 to December 2003.”

But the DoJ acting chief Agnes Devanadera argued that the Manila RTC cannot order the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), BoC, and CoA to conduct the audit of the multinational oil companies as auditing private entities is not within these government agencies’ mandates.