• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The per-liter price of diesel will decrease anew, this time by P24.94 effective tomorrow, April 21, and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who announced the rollback, urged oil companies to implement it in full and without delay.
Prices of gasoline, meanwhile, will decrease by P3.41 per liter, and kerosene by P2/L.
“Ipatupad ninyo ang rollback ng buo, tama, at walang pagkaantala. Ibigay ninyo sa taong bayan ang dapat naman na nasa kanila,” Marcos urged oil companies in a video message April 18. “Ang bawat sentimo na ibinababa ay dapat maramdaman ng bawat Pilipino.”
This will be the second straight week of rollback in the pump prices of petroleum products following more than three months of successive hikes, and the series of double-digit increases in March due to the steep rise in global oil prices amid tensions in the Middle East.
Around 329,000 barrels, or 52.311 million liters of diesel, arrived in the country from Malaysia last week as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the country’s fuel supply amid the continued volatility in the global oil market, the Department of Energy had said.
“With the arrival of the Malaysia shipment, the government continues to strengthen domestic supply buffers as global oil markets remain exposed to geopolitical risks linked to ongoing developments in the Middle East,” the DOE said in a statement.
Marcos also said that relief measures for the transport sector will continue, like the P10 fuel discount for public utility vehicles and buses, and the service contracting program for drivers, already implemented in the National Capital Region, and expected to be rolled out in the provinces soon. | CGC
