Philippine fuel prices under scrutiny amid calls for transparency — Tinio

House of Representatives Congressman Antonio “Tonchi” Tinio said in a committee hearing on April 8 that the Philippines ranks third globally for the most expensive diesel, following a 111 percent price surge, and second for gasoline at a 71.6 percent increase, based on data from Global Petrol Prices.

Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Sharon Garin said the country may have the highest percentage increase, but not the highest actual prices.

“We are actually in the middle when it comes to prices compared to the rest of the world,” Garin said.

She explained that the Philippines remains highly vulnerable to global oil price movements, with about 94 percent of pump prices attributed to landed cost.

Garin added that additional expenses—such as freight, insurance, transportation, biofuel blending, and taxes—further reduce business returns to more or less 3 percent.

Meanwhile, Tinio argued that even before the global oil crisis, oil prices had already been consistently rising, citing past instances of alleged overpricing.

He also pointed out that while the DOE records a breakdown of oil prices—including import costs, taxes, biofuel components, and industry take—it does not publicly disclose these details, citing “trade secrets” and “confidential information.”

However, under Republic Act 8479, or the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998, the DOE is allowed to disclose information deemed to be of public interest.

“The law for the deregulation of the downstream oil industry was not created to protect oil companies; it is for the benefit of the public,” Tinio said.

The congressman stressed that amid the current national emergency, the public has the right to know what they are paying for in fuel prices.

Garin has yet to confirm the department’s position on requiring full disclosure of oil price breakdowns by oil companies.