Senator Erwin Tulfo backs review of Oil Deregulation Law amid fuel price concerns

Senator Erwin Tulfo said Filipinos are at a disadvantage under the country’s existing oil deregulation policy, as he raised concerns over what he described as seemingly arbitrary increases in fuel prices amid tensions in the Middle East.

In an interview, Tulfo pointed out that the current legal framework limits the government’s ability to intervene in fuel pricing. He noted that under Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998, authorities cannot directly control or dictate oil prices and can only appeal to oil companies to temper price hikes when global costs rise.

The senator said this constraint has prompted him to co-author Senate Bill No. 641, a measure filed by Sherwin Gatchalian, which seeks to institutionalize greater transparency in the downstream oil industry and review the decades-old law.

Tulfo emphasized that oil firms have to disclose detailed pricing structures, including procurement costs, additional expenses, and profit margins per liter. He said such transparency would help determine if pump prices are justified, adding that recent trends suggest fuel may be overpriced.

“It is high time that companies are required to reveal how they price petroleum products,” he said.

Tulfo also recalled that he had previously pushed for the repeal of the deregulation law during his term in the House of Representatives, filing House Bill No. 8898 in the 19th Congress.

As a senator, he reiterated calls to revisit the measure, noting that its repeal has long been advocated by the transport sector.