Amendments to oil deregulation law sought

Legislative amendments are being proposed into the Philippines’ Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act to establish the basis for fair and reasonable pricing formula on petroleum products being sold at the gas pumps. Given the fact that the Department of Energy (DoE) currently lacks stronger power to monitor pricing movements in a deregulated market, it was proposed that the oil deregulation law be amended to set in a place an entity or body that must have tighter watch on the oil companies’ cost adjustments. Apart from review of the oil price formulas and methodologies, the DoE will also be looking into the possibility of rationalizing tax concerns in the sector, such as the imposition of value added taxes (VAT), excise and import duties on petroleum products. (August 3, 2010)