The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has received a complaint from a consumer group seeking to investigate the oil companies for alleged anti-competitive behavior.
Stella Quimbo, PCC commissioner, confirmed the body received a verified complaint from Laban Konsyumer Inc. (LKI) founder Vic Dimagiba on June 14.
But Quimbo said even before LKI’s complaint, the PCC “has been assessing the matter.”
She did not elaborate but said the oil industry is one of the three priority sectors in the manufacturing industry listed by a market scoping study conducted by Erlinda Medalla, research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).
The sectors -- which also include fertilizer and milk-based infant and dietetic food – were identified to have strong tendency to display anti-competitive behavior.
Quimbo said PCC may on its own open a case against any of the three sectors if and when its validation through a market study would show that the sector demonstrates unfair trade practices. It could also act on a verified complaint, such as in the case of refined petroleum products.
“Oil is important to the entire economy,” said Quimbo.
She said prior to either conducting a market study or opening a case, PCC will look into public interest as a key consideration. PCC will also look into the profit margin as well as the gross value-added of the industries.
In his affidavit, Dimagiba said that in his weekly trips to gasoline stations, he noticed that prices are “adjusted upward or downward in similar or identical amounts” by the oil companies and the new players.
He recounted his own experience where a specific service stations in Fairview, Quezon City are selling diesel at same prices.
