The National Democratic Front-Eastern Visayas calls on the Filipino people to unite and condemn the wanton and sudden increase in the prices of petroleum products.

Last October 5, oil companies increased the prices of petroleum products to almost P2 per liter. This will surely affect the prices of basic commodities and services, food, and transportation. The oil price hike is inhumane and its effects cannot be diminished especially as the Covid-19 pandemic and the grave economic crisis continue to affect Filipinos. This will be a heavier burden to people who are already knee-deep in poverty.

No one else will benefit from this but giant oil companies and oil cartel, who have no other objective but to rake in profits. They mercilessly take advantage of the easing of lockdown restrictions to control the prices of petroleum products allegedly based on changes in oil prices in the world market. This is a blatant lie. How can changes in oil prices in the world market affect oil stocks which were bought weeks or even months beforehand?

Moreover, majority of petroleum products imported from China have stocks of crude oil worth 90-120 days. This means that prices of oil products from China are not as vulnerable to changes of oil prices in the world market.

The people must expose the lies of oil companies. They must condemn their collusion to control the prices of petroleum products to rake in profits to the detriment of the people. Call for the rollback of oil prices towards just prices.

They must demand to junk the Oil Deregulation Law which gives way to oil companies and cartels to arbitrarily increase the prices of oil products. Unite with the protest actions of the broad masses, such as those of workers in the transport sector, commuters and consumers.

They must condemn the Duterte regime for continuing to implement the Oil Deregulation Law from which it also benefits.