MOTORISTS may need to tighten their belts some more as oil companies are expected to impose a hefty price increase on Tuesday.

“Expect fuel prices to go up again next week. Diesel should go up by P1.40 to P1.50 per liter while gasoline should increase by P0.70 to P0.80 per liter,” Unioil said in its advisory over the weekend.

An industry source gave an almost similar projection, pegging an increase of P1.50 per liter for diesel and “at least 90 cent(avos) [per liter] for gasoline.”

The price of gasoline, meanwhile, is anticipated to go up by P1.30 per liter to P1.40 per liter.

Last week, oil firms raised the price of diesel by P1.35 per liter, gasoline by P1 per liter and kerosene by P1.10 per liter.

Get the latest news
delivered to your inbox
Sign up for The Manila Times newsletters
By signing up with an email address, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

UP AGAIN A gasoline attendant serves a customer on Sunday amid warnings that oil companies will again hike oil prices this week. PHOTO BY GERARD SEGUIA

The price adjustments increased the common price of diesel to P48.30 per liter, gasoline to P59 per liter and kerosene to P53.67 per liter, based on the Department of Energy’s (DoE) weekly oil price monitoring.

As of October 2, oil companies had implemented a net increase of P10.70 for diesel, P10.40 for gasoline and P9.35 for kerosene, based on data from the DoE.

With excise tax that took effect in January this year, the price of diesel has risen by P13.50, gasoline by P13.37 and kerosene by P12.71.

Last week, the DoE said it is exhausting all options to mitigate effects of higher oil prices in the country.

“We’ve been exploring higher and expanded fuel discounts to public utility vehicles, looking at nearby countries for lower priced supply and even went to unpopular options to ensure that consumers are protected from the impact of this global price situation,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said in a statement on Thursday.

“Despite global forces affecting the country’s fuel prices, we are in constant communication with the oil industry players on how we can help the public amid the global oil situation,” Cusi added.

The DoE assured the public it would closely monitor developments in the global market.

Cusi earlier said the DoE is pushing for the importation of petroleum products as it is “one good measure to really help bring down the price of oil.”

The DoE also wanted Congress to consider amending the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) Law to facilitate a halt to higher taxes on fuel products.

“We are currently studying, going to the JCPC [Joint Congressional Power Commission] and asking the JCPC to … [hold] a hearing and ask for probably an amendment of the Train [Law] because otherwise, we will have to wait for three months before you can suspend the effectivity of the second round,” Energy Assistant Secretary Leonido Pulido 3rd said last Tuesday.

The Department of Finance (DoF), however, said the government could lose as much as P40 billion in gross revenues if the government heeded calls to suspend the fuel excise tax.