BAYAN MUNA SUPPORTS TRANSPORT STRIKE; CRITICIZES GMA FOR LEAVING PEOPLE DEFENSELESS AGAINST OIL PRICE HIKES 
Press Statement
December 13, 2007
 
We militant legislators of Bayan Muna fully support the calls and legitimate actions of drivers and operators who are calling for price controls in the oil industry and the repeal of the oil deregulation law.
 
We criticize the Arroyo administration for keeping the Filipino people defenseless against the continued oil price increases. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is letting the oil price shocks happening worldwide push more and more Filipinos into abject poverty. 
 
The Arroyo regime only puts up a show of blaming monopoly oil companies and says it cannot stop oil prices from skyrocketing. This shows that Arroyo is beholden to the interests of the oil cartels and is not prepared to address the energy crisis we are facing.
 
Since the oil industry was deregulated by the Ramos government in April 1996, oil companies have hiked pump prices of all petroleum products by around 535%. 
 
To add to the festering problem, oil companies and even Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo have already announced that fuel prices will still go up before Christmas, and there may be more hikes to come in 2008. The Palace refuses to do anything outside of ineffective measures such as an automatic tariff mechanism that does not stop the price hikes nor ensure fair price adjustments.
 
We are pushing for a the passage of 3 bills that shall give government the legal environment to loosen the tight grip of foreign monopoly oil companies on oil prices and to provide our public transport drivers, operators and the people a fighting chance versus incessant oil price hikes.
 
We call on consumers and various sectors of the public to support the passage of the following House Bills into law:
 
House Bill 3029 - An Act Regulating the Downstream Petroleum Industry and for Other Related Purposes;
 
House Bill 3030 - An Act Instituting Centralized Procurement of Petroleum in the Country; and
 
House Bill 3031 - An Act Renationalizing Petron Corporation.
 
 
HB 3029 will repeal the Oil Deregulation Law (RA 8479) that allows oil companies to automatically hike oil prices.
 
HBs 3030 and 3031 on the other hand, will mandate government to have centralized procurement of oil products from the cheapest sources available in the world and the re-acquisition of a majority government stake in Petron, respectively.
 
Filed on November 6, these 3 bills are bold and concrete steps to address the problematic oil industry squarely and regulate oil price increases in the country if immediately passed into law. These are tangible, long-term solutions that will mitigate the impact of skyrocketing oil prices.
 
If this government wants to address this major problem confronting the nation, it should immediately enact House Bills 3029, 3030 and 3031 into law. #