THE Department of Energy (DOE) might not have the police powers to run after erring oil companies, but it continues to monitor and report violations to other relevant agencies, its officer-in-charge said Wednesday, July 9.
Asked to confirm about the oil cartel in the country, newly appointed DOE Secretary Sharon Garin said this issue is based on unconfirmed information.
“I would say there’s still some form of anti-competitive behavior in some, not all. There are still some activities that are not of the best interest of the public,” she said.
“We are currently monitoring this. We don’t have any police powers. But if we do observe possible smuggling activity, we report it to BOC (Bureau of Customs). For any misdeclaration on the part of the oil company, we report it to the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue). For any anti-competitive behavior, then it’s PCC (Philippine Competition Commission) or ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission).”
During the same briefing, Rodela Romero, Assistant Director of the DOE’s Oil Industry Management Bureau, said cartelization is a violation of the Oil Deregulation Law.
“That’s why when we receive some complaints, we have the option to conduct the necessary investigation,” she said.
Under Chapter 3, Section 11 of Republic Act 8479, cartelization is defined as “any agreement, combination or concerted action by refiners, imports and/or dealers, or their representatives, to fix prices, restrict outputs or divide markets, either by products or by areas, or allocate markets, either by products or by areas, in restraint of trade or free competition, including any contractual stipulation which prescribes pricing levels and profit margins.” (PNA)
