A local court issued a writ of preliminary injunction against the Energy Department’s circular requiring oil companies to unbundle the prices of petroleum products.
The Mandaluyong City Regional Trial Court Branch 213 on Tuesday issued a writ of preliminary injunction preventing Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi from implementing Department Circular No. 2019-005-0008 in response to a petition filed by Petron Corp. on June 25.
“Now therefore, pursuant to the above-mentioned order, the public respondent, Alfonso Cusi, in his capacity as secretary of the Department of Energy, is enjoined from implementing and enforcing DC 2019-005-0008,” Judge Carlos Valenzuela said.
The court said after a painstaking re-assessment of the issues raised by both parties, it found clear and unmistakable right, which the petitioner was able to establish through evidence, to prevent the implementation of the circular while the case was being heard.
Petron asked the court to stop the implementation of the circular titled Revised Guidelines for the Monitoring of Prices in the Sale of Petroleum Products by the Downstream Oil Industry which aims to promote transparency in oil prices.
Under the circular, oil companies are required to report their “unbundled price adjustments” to include import costs, tax burdens, biofuel costs and other essential cost components that contribute to the changes in retail prices, including industry take or profit.
Aside from Petron, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. also asked the court for the issuance of a temporary restraining order and injunction. Sources said a court in Taguig City also granted an injunction against the Energy Department in favor of Pilipinas Shell.
“The petitioner might be placed at risk of losing its trade secrets and incur irreparable injury by disclosing such information to respondent DoE. The petitioner and its officers may be subjected to criminal prosecution and the administrative penalties mentioned in the circular for non-compliance with the same,” the Mandaluyong RTC said.
The court previously granted a 20-day TRO against the department on July 15.
Petron said in its petition that the implementation of the circular should cause irreparable damage to the public interest by implementing a regulation that is contrary to law and issued without legal basis and violates due process.
The oil firm said the disclosure of privileged information or trade secrets would cause damage as it would enable its competitors to gain an unfair economic advantage or undermine the economic advantage gained by Petron.
It said the Energy Department has no authority under the Oil Deregulation Law or Republic Act No. 8479 to require the submission of non-public information under the circular.
Energy officials, however, said the move to unbundle oil prices is not a form of regulation contrary to the claims of the oil companies.
“The unbundling circular was issued in the first place since the secretary is of the belief that the asking of information and not the dissemination of information is expressly authorized under the Oil Deregulation Law. It is in no way a form of regulation,” Energy assistant secretary Leonido Pulido said.