Youth group Anakbayan on Friday slammed the government of President Benigno Aquino III for allowing oil companies to hike oil prices this week, saying the increase will further weigh down on long-suffering Filipino people.
“We denounce the Aquino government for continuing to pamper local oil companies and allowing them to squeeze the greatest profits from the riding public as much as they please without any government regulation whatsoever,” said Anakbayan national chairperson Vencer Crisostomo.
The youth group also urged candidates for the 2016 elections to reject the Aquino administration’s oil deregulation policy and instead echo the Filipino people’s call to stop burdensome oil price hikes and junk the oil deregulation law.
Crisostomo said it is high time to finally scrap the oil deregulation law, which contrary to government rhetoric has not brought down prices because of increased competition but instead resulted to the spiraling of oil prices in the past two decades.
Crisostomo also slammed local oil companies for the oil prices hike.
Just recently, he said, oil prices were increased by P1.60 per liter while diesel prices were likewise raised by P1.25 per liter.
“The recent oil price hike is not only unjust because global prices have remained low. It is a cross being carried by the Filipino people and will inevitably result in the increase of the price of food and other basic goods and services,” said Crisostomo.
The group said the local oil cartel is profiteering from the recent oil price increases, as oil prices in the world market continues to fluctuate between $20 per barrel to $40 per barrel which remain low when compared to the record high $97 per barrel price two years ago.
“Local oil companies hiking oil prices always claim that they are just following the movement of oil prices in the global market. In fact, there is no real justification for the hikes except for their insatiable appetite for sucking profits from the Filipino people,” Crisostomo said.