MANILA — Senator Erwin Tulfo urged fellow lawmakers to expedite efforts to amend the country’s Oil Deregulation Law, citing its limits on the government’s ability to intervene in fuel pricing.

In an interview, Tulfo pointed to what he described as seemingly arbitrary increases in oil prices amid tensions in the Middle East, saying existing policy leaves consumers at a disadvantage.

“Filipinos are at a disadvantage because of this existing Oil Deregulation Law.”

“The government is limited by the law from controlling or dictating oil prices,” he said.

“Worse, because of the Oil Deregulation Law, the government can only appeal to the oil companies to not hike their prices too much when there are price increases in the global oil prices,” added the Senator.

Tulfo said he co-authored Senate Bill 641, which seeks to promote transparency in the downstream oil industry, alongside Sherwin Gatchalian. The proposed measure aims to review Republic Act No. 8479, or the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998.

“because of this, we co-authored Senate Bill 641 or the ‘Institutionalizing Transparency in the Philippine Downstream Oil Industry’ filed by Sen. Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian to review RA 8479 known as the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998.”

“Sen. Win and I want to see the unbundled prices of oil companies. How much did they spend to purchase the petroleum products? What are their added costs and how much do they take for profit per liter?” Tulfo remarked.

“Lately, we feel that the petroleum products sold in gasoline stations are overpriced so it is really high time that we have a law that would mandate these companies to reveal their costing of the products being sold to us,” the Senator emphasized.

Tulfo recalled that during his term as a congressman in the 19th Congress, he had already filed a measure seeking to repeal the Oil Deregulation Law. Now serving in the Senate, he continues to question the passage of the law in 1998, saying it places Filipinos at a disadvantage.

He added that repealing the law has long been a demand of the transport sector.