Senatorial aspirant and human rights lawyer Chel Diokno has urged the government to rescind its Malampaya deal with Udenna Corp. and rechannel the latter's P50-million daily income from the agreement for fuel subsidy.
Diokno made the statement ahead of the impending massive oil price hike on Tuesday, March 15. This is the 11th straight week that fuel companies increased their prices to recover escalated costs.
Udenna Corp., owned by Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy, is reportedly earning around P50 million a day from the 45-percent Chevron shareholdings in the Malampaya plant that it bought.
Based on his various discussions with experts, Diokno said Udenna’s six-month income of P9 billion from the Malampaya deal would be enough to provide P10 per liter of diesel fuel subsidy for the entire country for one month.
"If the government decides to provide six pesos per liter in gasoline subsidy for one month, it would just cost P3 billion or 2 months of earning from the Chevron stake," he pointed out.
“Kung hindi sana nakuha ng Udenna ang 45 porsiyentong share ng Chevron sa Malampaya, mababawasan sana natin ang bigat ng sunud-sunod na pagtaas ng presyo ng gasolina at diesel (If Udenna had not acquired Chevron's 45 percent share in Malampaya, we would have been able to alleviate the burden of the successive gasoline and diesel price hikes),” he added.
Diokno also called on President Duterte to immediately call for a special session of Congress to suspend the excise tax on diesel and kerosene to help cushion the impact of rising oil prices.
"President Duterte must quickly act on this matter by calling a special session of Congress to address this pressing matter and alleviate the suffering of our people, many of whom use diesel and kerosene," Diokno said.
"Huwag na sanang hintayin ng pamahalaan na lumuhod na sa mahal ng presyo ng bilihin at produktong petrolyo ang ating mga kababayan bago pa sila kumilos (The government should not wait for the public to further suffer at the high prices of commodities and petroleum products before they act)," he added.
Diokno earlier pushed to freeze the excise tax on petroleum products at its present absolute rate to help lessen the public's burden due to the successive oil price hikes.
Freezing the excise tax on oil products at its present absolute rate, Diokno explained, would allow the government to still collect the much-needed revenues while keeping the tax rate pegged even if oil prices in the world market go beyond $80 per barrel.