Scrap the Oil Deregulation Law

Deregulation laws are legislated so that the market will determine the price of basic goods, commodities and services. The deregulation law in the telecommunication sector paved the way to successful business ventures and new players / telecom providers in the country. The consumers benefited to improved services and competitive prices. The law worked well in the telecoms sector and it helped catapult Philippines as the SMS capital of the world (self proclaimed).


This is not true with the oil deregulation law. The greedy politicians particularly the Congress (which is composed of the Senate and the House of Representative) succumb to the bribery of the huge oil companies. Oil companies would say that their prices are based on the world market. They pocketed so much because once the prices of oil in the world market increases, oil companies in the Philippines couldn’t wait to increase their prices as well. They did not consider that the inventory that they are selling was purchased a month back. When the oil prices are down, they are so slow to roll back their prices. The Energy Minister once discovered in an audit that oil companies profited even when the price of the oil was so high last year. Our congress could not repeal this law as money from the oil companies is too tempting to refuse.

Sabi nga nila, ‘If you’re in the payola of the oil firms, you’ll do what they say, you’ll even lick their asses if they tell you to do it.’ Now that it’s election season, not one of our legislator would even dare to raise the abuses that oil firms make to the consumers.

The series of disasters that struck the country forced PGMA to issue Executive Order 839 otherwise known as the Temporary Price Control mechanism in response to the calamities. Big businesses who in one way or the other have interest in the major oil companies were the first to react and condemn PGMA. These people are a bunch of heartless individuals. They never realized that in times of calamities, the victims and the poor are the first to experience the effects of the overpricing of basic commodities. They have so many claims like the price control would only lessen the inventories of the big oil companies that could also lead to hoarding. Big businessmen would never listen to the rationale behind the price control.

Sa totoo lang, PGMA is in a very difficult situation. If she won’t issue an Executive Order for price control, may mga militante na naman na magra rally sa Edsa condemning her (as always naman). Now that she issued the EO, may mga big businessmen na naman na pinupuna naman siya. Ano na lang gagawin nya? We Filipinos pa naman are quick to criticize but we’re not contributing to the society.