The MIGRANTE Sectoral Party today renewed its call for the Macapagal-Arroyo government to "quit the use of dilly-dallying legalese and immediately scrap the law that gave rise to the rampant hikes in oil prices that have given more economic hardships to overseas Filipinos, their families and most of the Filipino population."

"The government's statements that 'it was possible that a review of the oil deregulation law (RA 8479)' is not the solution to skyrocketting oil prices. The continued rise in prices of oil and oil products clearly shows that these laws must immediately be scrapped," MIGRANTE Sectoral Party chairperson Connie Bragas-Regalado said.

The first oil deregulation law (RA 8180) was implemented to promote "a more competitive market and prices by allowing the entry of "small" oil players to the market monopolized by the so-called Big Three, namely, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum, Caltex Philippines Inc. and Petron Inc."

"But due to widespread people's protests in 1997, a new "Downstream Oil Deregulation Act of 1998" (RA 8479) was enacted to pave the way for the full deregulation of the oil industry. This law removed the government subsidy to oil prices, called the Oil Price Stabilization Fund, that provided a cushion to oil price increases and permitted oil companies to raise prices at their whim," Bragas-Regalado said.

Migrante also put forward its demands for government to concretely address the rampant oil price hikes:

1. Centralization of procurement of imported crude oil and refined petroleum products
2. The Establishment of a buffer fund to be developed from the operations of centralized procurement to protect local retail prices from sudden increases in world prices
3. Immediate abolition of specific taxes on petroleum products (including diesel and liquefied petroleum gas or LPG)
4. Widest possible public consultations as a requirement before implementing any oil price adjustments
5. The full disclosure of oil companies' pricing schemes and inventories of stocks

"Overseas Filipinos and their families doubly bear the brunt of oil price hikes at home. With shrinking wage levels in most countries abroad, we cannot bear the evils of oil deregulation. Government must atone for this with the scrapping of RA 8479 and heed our immediate demands for the benefit of the majority of the Filipino people. #