Oil companies in the Philippines reportedly earned more than ₱3 billion daily following the US-Israel attack on Iran a month ago, according to Senate Deputy Minority Leader Rodante Marcoleta.
He revealed this during a hearing of the Senate Proactive Response and Oversight for Timely and Effective Crisis Strategy (PROTECT) Committee on Wednesday.
Before the Middle East conflict erupted, Malacañang announced that the country had a 60-day supply of petroleum products. However, within just two weeks, diesel and gasoline prices surged over 120%.
“Halimbawa, pag-usapan natin ang diesel. Sabi ng Presidente before the war broke out, we had 60 days of supply. So after two weeks, yung ₱55 per liter tumaas ng average na ₱125 (per liter),” Marcoleta said.
He noted that the country consumes 996,348,000 liters of diesel per month, resulting in a ₱70 per liter increase — a 127% jump.
On gasoline, prices rose from ₱50 per liter before the conflict to ₱80 per liter after two weeks, representing a ₱30 per liter increase or 67%. The Philippines consumes about 4,521,000 barrels of gasoline monthly.
Marcoleta estimated that combining diesel and gasoline,
“₱2.32 bilyon kada araw ang approximately ang gross income [ng oil companies]… plus ₱714,318,000 (gasolina), ang gross income per day is ₱3,039,130,000 per day… eh kinuha nyo kinuha n’yo sa imbentaryo, two weeks pa lang ng nakakaraan.”