OIL companies and independent distributors of liquefied petroleum gas on Thursday reduced the prices of their LPG products to reflect a decrease in international contract prices.
In separate statements, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Petron Corp. and Total Philippines Corp. announced a price cut of P1.20 per kilogram for their LPG products.
As of yesterday, the international contract price for LPG, which is set on a monthly basis by suppliers abroad, went down to $843 per metric ton from $870 per metric ton in August.
Prior to the price cut implemented by the three oil firms, an 11-kilogram LPG cylinder was retailing between P670 and P757 each in Metro Manila.
Meanwhile, independent refillers and dealers under the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers’ Association (LPGMA) rolled back their prices by P1.00 per kilogram, a lawmaker said also on Thursday.
Rep. Arnel Ty of LPGMA party-list disclosed that effective yesterday, the suggested retail prices of independent refillers went down from P651 to P640 per 11-kilogram cylinder.
Old cylinders
He also urged his colleagues to pass House Bill 3976, which he filed, into law to allow Filipino consumers to replace their old LPG tanks just like in Thailand.
“We are determined to remove from the open market and replace all defective and substandard cylinders. This will lessen possible accidental fires that may be caused by unsafe cylinders,” Ty added.
Thailand’s national government, he said, spent only the equivalent of P600 million for a highly successful cylinder exchange program that eliminated some 1.2 million potentially faulty and hazardous LPG tanks.
But Ty’s proposal does not sit well with a group of independent refillers which raised fears of increased LPG prices should his proposed bill be passed into law. The proposed measure plans to ban six million old LPG cylinders in the market.
Bernie Bolisay, president of the LPG Refillers Association, said that independent refillers cannot replace six million LPG cylinders over a period of six months, and that each new cylinder costs P1,500 for an aggregate cost of P9 billion.
Also, the two local manufacturers of LPG tanks in the country can only produce a total of 55,000 cylinders per month.
“The LPG prices will increase because it would be impossible for us to comply considering that there is no guarantee that our orders will be prioritized over those of the big oil companies such as Shell, Petron, Caltex and Total. Besides, it [P1,500 per new cylinder] would be too capital intensive for us,” Bolisay said in an interview with reporters.
He added that they would need at least 10 years to replace all their LPG cylinders in the market. Ty’s proposed bill calls for the replacement of old LPG cylinders in 180 days.
