PRESS RELEASE

7 September 2000

Reference:

Leo Legaspi,
Chairperson
MIGRANTE International

Overseas Filipinos also bear brunt of oil price hikes; call for price controls

"The small players have raised their prices, the oil cartel will now go for more profits at the expense of overseas Filipinos and their families in the homeland."

Migrante International chair Leo Legaspi gave this grim scenario on the 20th round of oil price increases under the Estrada administration.

"After the new players like Eastern Petroleum, and Flying V increased prices by P1 and P1.10 respectively, the Big Three (Shell, Petron and Caltex) will go for more rapacious profits in the next few days. Government must not allow and oppose any more increases,"  Legaspi said.

Legaspi hastened to add that the Big Three are "having a grand time raking in superprofits from our long-suffering people since the oil deregulation law was passed. From January to July 2000, oil companies gained P2.65 billion, with Petron pocketting additional profits of P947 million, Shell, P917 million and Caltex, P554 million. That translates to Petron, Shell and Caltex gaining additional profits of P7.6 million, P7.4 million and P4.5 million on a daily basis, respectively. Other industry players like Flying V, Total, UniOil, Eastern Petroleum, and SeaOil shared among themselves combined additional earnings of P233 million."

Legaspi explained that "overseas Filipinos and their families are also victims of the latest attack of the oil cartel against the people. Forced to seek employment abroad, Filipino migrant workers will not be able to bear the additional burden of every oil price hike that is the result of the industry’s deregulation."

"This adds excruciating pressure on migrant workers who will have to seek ways to increase their remittances to their families to cope with the concomitant skyrocketting prices of basic commodities. We need government to decisively take measures to avert more price increases," Legaspi said.

Migrante also averred that "the Estrada administration deserves the people’s outrage as it connives with Caltex, Petron and Shell to hoodwink the public into accepting "justified" adjustments in pump prices to recover oil companies’ losses."

Aside from oil price hikes, "the ruthless Estrada government is also hell-bent on imposing (1) a P1,000 fine on OFWs who fail to file their income tax returns at the Bureau of Internal Revenue; (2) compel each OFW to pay an "annual contribution" of US$25 to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration that do not get back to them in direct services and protection and (3) increase fees for consular services (this includes authentication, translation and renewal of travel documents) abroad by 20 percent," Legaspi said.

Legaspi furthered that "Mr. Estrada is adding burden after burden to OFWs, their families and the people left and right. This administration should put its foot down on the oil cartel by legislating price controls on all oil products in place of the oil deregulation law. If Estrada continues to protect oil companies’ greed for profit instead, it gives more credence to the campaign for his ouster." #

MIGRANTE International

56-C Masikap Street

Bgy. Pinyahan, Teachers' Village

Quezon City, PHILIPPINES

Phone: 435-9152

Tele/Fax: 435-6929

E-mail address: migranteintl@pacific.net.p