Home News Marcos Jr, oil firms continue to burden Filipinos with excessive taxes, unregulated prices — PISTON

Marcos Jr, oil firms continue to burden Filipinos with excessive taxes, unregulated prices — PISTON

PISTON - OCT 15 OPH

Transport group PISTON renewed its call for the repeal of the Oil Deregulation Law as fuel prices surged by more than P2.00 per liter on Tuesday.

According to the group, as Filipinos struggle with soaring costs of living, it is clear that both oil companies and the government are benefiting disproportionately from speculative pricing practices.

These do not only affects transportation costs but also inflates prices for basic goods and services, exacerbating the economic burden on ordinary Filipinos.

PISTON National President Mody Floranda, a senatorial candidate for the Makabayan coalition, said, “The bulk of profits from blatant oil price manipulation is concentrated among major industry players like Petron, owned by Marcos crony Ramon Ang, which rakes in billions daily from our hard-earned money.”

Given the ongoing financial strain on consumers, the group urges Congress to prioritize passing the pending legislations aimed to lower oil prices.

An important set of legislations, called the Lower Oil Prices bill package, seeks to regulate the oil industry and lower petroleum prices. This package includes critical measures such as House Bill No. 400 or the Lower Oil Price bill which will cut the excise tax on petroleum products under the TRAIN law and exempt these from VAT, House Bill No. 3003 to renationalize Petron, House Bill No. 3004 to unbundle oil prices, House Bill No. 3005 for centralized procurement of petroleum, and House Bill No. 3006 to regulate the downstream oil industry and repeal the Oil Deregulation Law.

Makabayan partylist representatives filed these bills in 2022 and has since been pending in the Lower House.

PISTON emphasizes that while urgent, these measures should complement broader political and economic reforms addressing long-standing issues of corporatization and deregulation of vital industries and public utilities that cause the suffering of ordinary Filipinos.

Floranda added, “Instead of holding these giant companies accountable for exploiting the people, the Marcos government colludes with them to squeeze every drop of blood and sweat from ordinary citizens just to line their pockets.”

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