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Big Three Earn P1.1 Billion from Overpricing
by IBON
Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2004 at 11:47 AM
editors@ibon.org 713-2729/713-2737 Rm. 303, SCC Bldg., 4427 Int. Old Sta. Mesa, Manila, Philippines
Petron, Shell, and Caltex, the so-called Big Three of the oil industry, earned an estimated P1.1 billion from overpriced oil products last year.
Petron, Shell, and Caltex, the so-called Big Three of the oil industry, earned an estimated P1.1 billion from overpriced oil products last year.
Based on IBON estimates, oil firms overpriced their products by 91 centavos per liter from December 2002 to December 2003. The actual daily sales of oil products stood at 50.34 million liters as of September 2003, of which the Big Three accounts for around 86 percent.
According to IBON Executive Director Rosario Guzman, “The huge amount that Petron, Shell, and Caltex earned from profiteering strengthens their hold on the local oil market and exposes the failure of deregulation.”
Among the promised benefits of deregulation is the dismantling of the cartel of the Big Three. However, until today, they still control 9 out of 10 barrels of oil sold in the domestic market and 8 out of 10 gasoline stations in the country.
“Deregulation has failed to even weaken the domination of Petron, Shell, and Caltex. On the contrary, with lack of government regulation, the Big Three has more opportunities to make profit--at the expense of consumers,” Guzman says.
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