Solon calls out oil firms for copying each other's weekly pump price adjustments
At A Glance
- Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Stella Quimbo has called out local oil firms for one of their more eyebrow-raising tendencies--that of imposing the exact same price adjustments as each other on a near weekly basis.

(Ali Vicoy/ File photo/ MANILA BULLETIN)
Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Stella Quimbo has called out local oil firms for one of their more eyebrow-raising tendencies--that of imposing the exact same price adjustments as each other on a near weekly basis.
Quimbo, the senior vice chairperson of the Committee of Appropriations, was part of the "consultative meeting" Monday morning, Sept. 18, between House officials and local oil company representatives in Batasan Complex, Quezon City.
During the meeting, the lady solon noted that oil companies usually submit to the Department of Energy (DOE) practically the same price adjustments “up to the last decimal point".
“There is no reason why you would have the same weekly price adjustments,” Quimbo said.
Deputy Majority Leader and ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo, another attendee to the meeting, shared in a subsequent press conference how the oil firms representatives were stumbled by the Quimbo's observation.
He said the oil firm people tried to cite "oil pricing" terms but ultimately could give Quimbo a good answer.
The Marikina solon proposed that the DOE discard the practice of submitting price adjustment schemes weekly and instead just allow oil firms to make such submissions when it becomes necessary for each of them to increase prices or implement a rollback.
House Speaker Martin Romualdez led the congressmen in the meeting, the purpose of which was to convince the fuel companies to stop pump price hikes until after Christmas.
There have been 11 straight fuel price hikes in as many weeks.
The meeting also included DOE officials led by Undersecretary Sharon Garin, and representatives from the oil industry players such as the Petron Corp., Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies Association, as well as officials from Chevron Philippines Inc., Philippine Institute of Petroleum, Flying V, and Total Philippines Corp.