Pump prices went up by as much as P4.10 per liter effective 6 AM Tuesday, the second consecutive week of oil price hike, to reflect the movement of prices in the world oil market.
The oil firms raised the price of diesel by P4.10 per liter, kerosene by P3.50 per liter, and gasoline by P3 per liter.
“Flying V will implement Price Movement for the following products on APRIL 26, 2022, Tuesday at 6:00 a.m.: Gasoline, P3/li increase, kerosene, P3.50/li increase, and biodiesel, P4.10/li increase,” the company said.
Seaoil Philippines, Total Philippines, Cleanfuel, PetroGazz, PTT Philippines, and Chevron Philippines also announced the oil price hike.
Gerardo Erguiza, Jr., Department of Energy assistant secretary said in a government briefing oil prices went up last week but there was no “significant increases sa prices unlike in the past” where prices climbed to P12 per liter.
“The indication now, average last week compared today, Monday, it went down slightly. If it continues to go down until Friday, we might have a rollback next week,” Erguiza said.
He said the high oil prices is a global problem amid the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war which affected oil production.
The DOE official said production cuts in Libra also affected oil prices while Iran’s sanctions continue.
“Basically, we have shortage of supply and production. Because the reserves were tapped, prices went up,” he said.
On April 19, the oil companies implemented a price increase in domestic oil products. Gasoline has increased by P0.45 per liter, diesel by P1.70 per liter, and kerosene by P0.45 per liter.
These resulted to the year-to-date adjustments to stand at a net increase of P15.45/liter for gasoline, P27.35/liter for diesel and P21.55/liter for kerosene.
Other firms have yet to make similar announcements for the week.
Domestic pump prices have been on an uptrend in 13 out of the past 16 weeks, which the Department of Energy has attributed the the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, along with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in China which have driven demand.
Latest data available from the Department of Energy indicate that adjustments stand at a net increase of P15.45 per liter for gasoline, P27.35 per liter for diesel, and P21.55 per liter for kerosene as of April 19, 2022.
Data from the same agency show that prices in Metro Manila range from P64.20 per liter (Quezon City) to P86.75 per liter (Muntinlupa City) for gasoline, and P65.25 per liter (Quezon City) to P79.95 per liter (Pasig City) for diesel as of April 21, 2022.
Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture has distributed P12 million of the P1.1-billion fuel subsidy for the corn farmers and fisherfolk nationwide to lessen the impact of a series of fuel price hikes on them, an official has said.
In a Super Radyo dzBB interview Sunday, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Noel Reyes said registered farmers under the Registry System for the Basic Sectors in Agriculture and fishermen under the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) will be given P3,000 fuel subsidy.
“Our priority are those who were already registered. We’re still encouraging others to have their names registered in the RSBSA. The registration is ongoing because we have only distributed P12 million nationwide, so far,” Reyes said.
Reyes noted the P1.1-billion allocation for this program is funded through the P500 million from the 2022 budget, and the remaining P600M from the recently-approved by the Department of Budget and Management.
He said that about 300,000 corn farmers and fisherfolk would benefit from this program.
Meanwhile, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has exempted the DA’s subsidy programs for eligible farmers and fisherfolk from the election spending ban, as confirmed by poll Commissioner George Garcia on Wednesday.
Asked if the allocation of this fuel subsidy would resume this month, Reyes said, “Yes, the distribution will resume by the end of the month until we have distributed all the money.”