PIP review team members named

The Department of Energy has drafted a list of members of the review panel that will be tasked to scrutinize the financial statements of six oil companies belonging to the Philippine Institute of Petroleum (PIP), which earlier sought to clear their names over allegations of overpricing and collusion.

Energy Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras said the panel members identified had yet to commit to the undertaking as they still needed to see the “terms of reference” of the review.

Members of the initial list included former Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Consumer and Oil Price Watch head Raul T. Concepcion, former National Economic and Development Authority chief Solita Monsod, economist Dr. Vic Abola and party-list group 1-Utak’s Vigor Mendoza.

Media groups have yet to name their respective nominees for the oil review panel.

In October last year, the PIP said its member companies would open their books to the public, with the belief that the review to be commissioned would validate previous findings that disproved allegations of overpricing and collusion hurled against them.

The PIP wanted the DoE to pick the audit group’s members to avoid allegations of biases in favor of concerned oil companies, such as Chevron (Philippines) Inc., Liquigaz Philippines Corp., Petron Corp., PTT Philippines Corp., Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., and Total (Philippines) Corp.

Roberto S. Kanapi, vice president for corporate communications at Pilipinas Shell, earlier said the additional review would put to rest the fears of the public that oil companies were taking advantage of the volatility of the global oil market through unwarranted increases in pump prices.

It was also hoped that with this probe, people will have a better understanding of the downstream oil industry, Kanapi said.

The proposed review will add to the two that were conducted in 2005 and 2008, both results of which have already cleared the oil companies of such allegations.—Amy R. Remo