PH Senate eyes two-tier fuel price disclosure, expanded station inspections

MANILA – The Senate is considering a two-level disclosure system requiring oil companies to submit detailed pricing information to the government while giving consumers access to cost breakdowns, as industry representatives warned that enforcing the proposed reforms across some 18,000 fuel stations would require additional inspectors.

Senate Committee on Energy chair Erwin Tulfo on Thursday proposed the arrangement during a hearing on amendments to the Oil Deregulation Law, seeking to strengthen government oversight without exposing confidential business information.

Under the proposal, petroleum companies would provide the Department of Energy (DOE) with complete information on their costs, expenses and profit margins, while the public would receive aggregated pricing data without identifying individual firms.

“Where do we draw the line between legitimate business confidentiality and the public's right to understand petroleum products?” Tulfo asked.

DOE Oil Industry Management Bureau Director Rino Abad said the arrangement was workable, emphasizing that regulators must have access to detailed information to determine whether pump price adjustments are justified.

“If you want to understand the pump price, you really have to unbundle every centavo,” Abad said.

He explained that oil companies should account for their pricing components down to the last centavo, allowing the DOE to compare actual costs with announced adjustments.

For public disclosure, however, the department could release price ranges based on industry submissions without identifying the companies involved.

Abad cited a possible report showing that the justified price adjustment, based on submissions from 15 oil companies, ranged from PHP5 to PHP7 per liter.

He said this would preserve competition and protect commercially sensitive information while allowing consumers to understand the basis of fuel price movements.

Monitoring challenges

The Philippine Institute of Petroleum (PIP), meanwhile, supported stronger pricing transparency but cautioned that the DOE would need additional personnel to enforce the requirements nationwide.

Nimfa Villamayor, PIP assistant executive director, said major petroleum companies could comply with the proposed disclosure requirements, but independently operated fuel outlets in remote areas could be more difficult to monitor.

“Additional manpower will be required for the DOE,” Villamayor said, citing approximately 18,000 retail stations across the country.

She explained that fuel outlets outside the networks of major oil companies could escape effective monitoring if the department lacked sufficient field personnel.

Tulfo acknowledged the concern, citing small fuel retailers in Busuanga, Palawan, where petroleum products are transported in drums and resold by independent establishments.

Such arrangements, he said, demonstrate the challenge of enforcing uniform consumer protection standards in communities without established gasoline station networks.

The DOE has already expanded its monitoring operations through coordination with local government units and law enforcement agencies, including guidelines issued in April for deputized personnel inspecting fuel retailers.

The Supreme Court also upheld in 2024 the validity of a DOE circular requiring oil companies to disclose detailed components of petroleum price adjustments, rejecting the industry's challenge to the department's monitoring authority.

The latest Senate discussions focus on strengthening the legal framework for disclosure, including how regulators can verify confidential company information while providing consumers with meaningful pricing data.

Tulfo maintained that greater transparency should not undermine legitimate business operations but must ensure that fuel prices remain fair and properly justified.

The committee is reviewing proposed amendments to Republic Act No. 8479, or the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998, amid continuing concerns over fuel price volatility and the government's ability to protect consumers.