Labor Center calls for oil price control, direct procurement, amidst spiraling cost of crude

The Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) Labor Center today pushed the need for an immediate price control on oil to counter the effects of spiraling cost of crude on the world market and prevent further erosion of the purchasing power of ordinary Filipinos through price inflation.

“Last October 31, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) increased by PhP 5/kilo which is equivalent to an increase of PhP 55 on an 11 kilo tank. For a ordinary family, shelling out that extra amount meant losing at least 2 kilos of rice and 2 eggs. The poor Filipinos are the first to hurt with continued oil price hikes and that is why immediate control on oil prices is needed,” said Elmer “Ka Bong” Labog, National Chairperson of the KMU.

At the same time, the labor leader scoffed at the suggestion of Department of Energy (DoE) Secretary Angelo Reyes on how to avert the looming energy crisis. “The Secretary is so beholden to the interest of the oil cartel that he is so quick to shift the blame to consumption patterns of the the public, like using Christmas lights, instead of putting it squarely on the greed of the cartel for super profits. According to Ibon Foundation, pump prices are overpriced by as much as PhP 4.55 per liter because of non-regulation.”

Aside from price control, the labor leader also suggested government-to-government procurement of crude. “By taking away the middleman, we can get more crude for every dollar. We can expand trade arrangements with Venezuela to include direct procurement of oil to cut down cost on oil imports.”

“The recent developments have proven a deregulated oil industry cannot deliver its supposed promise to push prices down through increase in competition. In a world of controlled by monopolies it is daydreaming, to say the least, to expect free competition to happen. Now we have more reason than ever to scrap the Oil Deregulation law,” ended Labog.