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By Efren L. Danao, Senior
Reporter
Sen. Francis Pangilinan called on
Wednesday for a boycott of Shell, Caltex and Petron unless they
follow the lead of Unioil and reduce the prices of their oil
products.
He said that Unioil’s decision
to cut the price of their gasoline and diesel by as much as P4.75 a
liter showed that there was still room for the Big 3 of the local
oil industry to reduce their prices also.
“If Unioil can reduce its
prices, then the Big 3 could afford to reduce theirs also because
they have a deeper pocket,” he said.
He warned that any refusal of
Shell, Caltex and Petron to reduce their prices would affect their
prestige and image as socially responsible companies.
He said that a boycott of the Big
3, should they refuse to lower their prices, would tell them that
the people are willing to act against “insensitive policies.”
“Boycott them for a day or two
so they will feel the pain. If their revenue goes down, that will
send them the message that the people are angry,” Pangilinan said.
He said that oil firms are
undeniably earning a lot of money and that it is always the
consumers who are at the losing end. He believed that there could be
a change if the people boycott the Big 3 oil firms.
He also criticized Energy
Secretary Angelo Reyes for failing to open the books of oil firms
despite repeated announcements that he would do so.
“If Secretary Reyes cannot do
his job, then he should resign,” he said.
Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero
said Reyes had been a mere “barker” of increases and decreases
in oil prices instead of auditing the books of oil firms.
“The law gave him the power to
audit the oil firms. President Gloria Arroyo had ordered him to
start the audit. He had announced a number of times that he would do
so. Yet, until now, he still has to do so,” he said.
He urged Reyes to stop thinking
about politics and focus on his job. He noted that Reyes is
reportedly set to run in 2010.
Meanwhile, Sen. Manuel Villar
said that the Oil Industry Deregulation Law should be reviewed
because it had muddled the pricing of oil products.
“The pricing in a deregulated
regime has not been very clear. There is a long lag time in
decreases,” he said.
Consumers have been complaining
that when world oil prices go down, it is taking oil companies a
long time to make a commensurate reduction in their prices.
Villar said a review would not
necessarily mean the return of subsidy for petroleum products.
“We cannot afford to subsidize
oil products,” he admitted.
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