MikeLigalig.com

By Bohol Chronicle

With fuel prices in Tagbilaran City higher by at least ?3 to ?5 than in the cities of Cebu and Davao, Governor Edgar Chatto has asked the Department of Energy to look into the matter and determine if there is overpricing in the city and other areas of the province.

In a letter dated October 13, the governor highlighted the price differentials on gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and LPG between Tagbilaran and the said metropolises and requested for DOE intervention on the matter to protect the Boholano constituency and the consuming public.

Director Zenaida Monsada of the DOE's Oil Industry Management Bureau said that they have already sent inquiries to Eric Recto, president of Petron; Edgar Chua, chairman and president of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum; and Jim Meynink, country chairman of Chevron Phils., asking them for comments on the issue.

In her reply, which was received by the Office of the Governor last November 17, Monsada clarified that, by virtue of RA 8479 or the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998, local dealers can determine their actual selling prices based on freight, storage, handling, transportation, and other operating costs and the behavior of market forces in their area.

However, Monsada added that her bureau will be conducting an investigation on the matter, in coordination with the DOE-Visayas Field Office, to determine the actual causes of the disparity in prices and to assess the reasonableness of prevailing fuel prices in the city.

Gov. Chatto urged the resolution of the issue noting that all sectors and industries not just in the province, but nationwide, are dependent on fuel prices.

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