4 oil firms slash prices of gasoline, diesel and kerosene

MANILA, Philippines—Local oil companies have slashed prices of petroleum products effective Tuesday, to reflect the latest movements in the global oil market.

Independent player Eastern Petroleum had cut prices of gasoline by 50 centavos a liter and of diesel and kerosene by 25 centavos a liter, while Phoenix Petroleum Philippines decreased pump prices of gasoline by 35 centavos a liter and of diesel by 20 centavos a liter.

Both Chevron Philippines and Seaoil Philippines implemented a rollback of 35 centavos a liter for premium unleaded gasoline; 20 centavos a liter for diesel and regular gasoline; and 50 centavos a liter for kerosene.

Other oil companies are expected to follow suit.

Prior to Tuesday’s rollback, diesel products were retailing between P41.70 and P44.30 a liter while gasoline sold for as low as P52.10 a liter to as much as P58.67 a liter. As of September 6, the year-to-date net increase in gasoline stood at P7.45 a liter and diesel, P5.10 a liter.

Meanwhile, umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan called on the Aquino government, on Monday, to prioritize the scraping of the value added tax (VAT) on petroleum products, a move it claimed, would significantly lower oil prices.

In a statement issued on Monday, Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes Jr. noted that there were already various proposals in Congress calling for the lowering of the VAT rate up to the outright scrapping of the VAT on oil.

“It is unconscionable that the Aquino government continues to collect this tax despite the people’s misery with rising oil prices,” Reyes said.

Citing data from the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department, VAT on oil revenues are expected to reach P70 billion this year, or a windfall of P26 billion, because of constantly increasing oil prices. This would be significantly bigger than last year’s VAT on oil collection of P45 billion, the group disclosed.

“Instead of asking the public to tighten their belts, government should instead tighten its own by reducing VAT collections on oil. The public has long been trying to make ends meet and making sacrifices. We have not seen the government make any sacrifice,” Reyes explained.

“Government is obsessed with collecting the P70 billion in VAT on oil revenues at the expense of the people. It’s just obscene to be earning windfall revenues of P26 billion while the public suffers from high oil prices. Our policymakers are either callous or oblivious towards the people’s plight,” he added.