Senator Erwin Tulfo said on Sunday, August 30 that he is resolute in amending the outdated Oil Deregulation Law to mandate pricing transparency among Philippine oil companies.

Sen. Erwin Tulfo reiterates his call for the removal of the system loss charge, pointing out how electric cooperatives became complacent in upgrading their facilities because the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) enables them to pass on the system loss charge to consumers. (Senate PRIB photo)

The Senate Committee on Energy chairman said transparency in oil pricing has been a longstanding concern, especially from the transport sector, as crude prices have indiscriminately increased through time, while price rollbacks remain minimal.

“The oil companies will just say ‘tomorrow, we will increase the prices by 5 pesos per liter,’ then we will have no choice but to pay,” Tulfo said.

“What we will do is we will strengthen the powers of the Department of Energy (DOE) over these companies. No more arbitrary price shocks—they will have to explain why they increase their prices in a certain way,” he stressed.

The senator also noted how the Oil Deregulation Law has been a burden to Filipinos, likening its effects to those of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA).

“Because of these outdated laws, system losses are being charged to the consumer,” he lamented.

“Electric companies are well-aware that they need to upgrade their systems, but they just let them deteriorate because they can easily charge those loss fees to the public,” Tulfo remarked.

While critics argue these reforms could only diminish the prices by just a few pesos, Tulfo said these are still savings considered significant by ordinary Filipino families already suffering from inflation.

“What matters is the principle. You cannot just sit idly and let the ordinary Filipinos pay for services that they did not benefit from, or pay fuel without understanding how it was priced,” he said.