Senator Erwin Tulfo seeks overhaul of oil deregulation law

Senator Erwin Tulfo is renewing calls to amend the country’s Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act, pushing for stronger government oversight to enforce price transparency among oil companies amid rising fuel and commodity costs.

Tulfo, who chairs the Senate Committee on Energy, raised the issue after recent fuel price hikes pushed August inflation past the central bank’s target range.

Under the proposed amendments, the Department of Energy (DOE) would gain expanded authority to audit and scrutinize the pricing mechanisms of oil players, curbing what Tulfo described as arbitrary price adjustments.

“The oil companies will just say, ‘Tomorrow, we will increase prices by 5 pesos per liter,’ and we have no choice but to pay,” Tulfo said. “We will strengthen the powers of the DOE over these companies. No more arbitrary price shocks—they will have to explain their price increases.”

The senator noted that transport groups have long complained about asymmetric pricing, where domestic pump prices rise rapidly during global oil spikes but lag in corresponding rollbacks when international crude prices fall. Greater transparency, he argued, would help consumers understand how global price fluctuations translate to the local pump.

Criticizing the current law as outdated, Tulfo drew parallels between the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act and the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), arguing that both policies unfairly shift operational burdens onto ordinary consumers.

“Because of these outdated laws, system losses are being charged to the consumer. Electric companies know they need to upgrade their systems, but they let them deteriorate because they can easily pass those loss fees to the public,” Tulfo remarked.

Addressing critics who argue that legislative amendments might yield only minor price reductions, Tulfo emphasized that even modest relief provides crucial support for families facing elevated living costs.

“What matters is the principle,” Tulfo said. “You cannot just sit idly and let ordinary Filipinos pay for services they did not benefit from, or buy fuel without understanding how it was priced.” -Paraluman News