Hike in petroleum product prices:
Oil company giants continue to amass superprofits

Basahin ang artikulong ito sa Pilipino

The average 42.25-centavo increase in the price per liter of gasoline in the last week of May was met with protests by militant organizations and the people. Pickets were staged on May 25 in front of the offices of Petron, Caltex and Shell by militant organizations to demand the rollback of petroleum prices, declare the latter's onerous effects on their livelihoods and expose the government's puppetry to imperialists. Petron, Caltex and Shell are the three biggest oil companies in the Philippines.

As a result of the latest hike in petroleum costs, prices of commodities such as rice, sugar, cooking oil and others also rose by 5-10%.

To enable themselves to recover from their plummeting incomes, workers and employees demanded wage increases. Drivers also asked for a hike in transport fares.

But instead of addressing the demands of the toiling masses, the Macapagal-Arroyo regime has extended further liberties to the oil companies. Before the end of June, gasoline prices are set to increase by 90-96 centavos per liter.

Profit-hungry

The oil companies commonly argue that they need to raise the prices of petroleum products to recover losses supposedly incurred the previous months. But the three oil giants have admitted gaining P6.7 billion in 2000. Shell, the biggest among them, amassed P270 million.

In November 2000, the average world price of crude oil was $30.32 per barrel. In December 2000, the world price fell to $21.65 per barrel (or a drop of $8.67). But it was only in January that the three oil giants lowered their prices, by merely 50 centavos, supposedly upon Estrada's intercession.

Despite all this, the oil monopolies still amassed superprofits because apart from lower prices for crude in the international market, Estrada temporarily scrapped the 3% tariff paid by all petroleum product importers.

In defense of exploitation

Oil price hikes were temporarily halted from February till after the May 14 polls to support the new regime and the ruling system's efforts to consolidate after the convulsion the latter went through in January. Now that the new regime has attained a certain degree of consolidation, Macapagal-Arroyo has gone full blast in advancing the oil deregulation law that allows the oil giants to freely raise the prices of their products. They shall squeeze every last drop of blood and sweat from the Filipino people all in the name of raking in humongous profits.

Just as these companies unbridledly raise the prices of their products, causing the people to suffer, so must the people be determined to wage resistance.

June 2001
English Edition

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