MANILA, Philippines?For the third time in barely two weeks, local oil companies have again slashed prices of gasoline, diesel and kerosene by 50 centavos liter, to reflect the declining prices of petroleum products in the international market.

Petron Corp., Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Seaoil Philippines, Chevron Philippines, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Eastern Petroleum and Total Philippines implemented the rollback beginning Tuesday.

?With this adjustment, (prices of) premium gasoline had been decreased by a total of P2.75 a liter, while (prices of) diesel, kerosene and regular gasoline have been rolled back by P2.50 a liter in the past nine days,? said Petron in its advisory.

Last week, oil companies slashed prices of diesel, kerosene and gasoline by a total of P2 a liter, and of premium gasoline by P2.25 a liter.

Data from the Department of Energy showed the price of regional benchmark Dubai crude fell to $78 a barrel as of May 25, from the $84 a barrel average in April.

The price of unleaded gasoline based on the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) benchmark also dipped to $87 a barrel in the first 25 days of the month, from the previous month?s average of $94 a barrel.

Similarly, MOPS-based diesel prices further dropped to an average of $90 a barrel in the May 1-25 period, compared to $96-a-barrel average in April.