Major oil player Petron Corp. and small player Seaoil Philippines announced Monday night price rollbacks reaching P0.50 per liter on their respective petroleum products.

The two oil firms said a P0.50 per liter reduction will be imposed on gasoline prices while those of diesel and kerosene would be pulled down by P0.25 per liter. Petron and Seaoil said the price adjustment would take effect at 6 a.m. Tuesday.

Other oil firms have yet to announce a rollback as of press time, although they are expected to follow.

This, after figures from Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) showed that international prices of gasoline dropped by $0.30 per barrel and diesel by $0.20 per barrel during trading last week.

Big and small oil companies jacked up their pump prices by P1 a liter last June 08.

The week before that, the same oil firms implemented the fifth in a wave of five consecutive rollbacks. Domestic fuel prices plunged by as much as P3.75 a liter last May, thamks to the successive price cuts.

Tuesday's price reduction came amid calls from the transport sector to hike the minimum jeepney fare from the current P7 to P8. At least six transport groups have officially petitioned a fare hike before the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB), the Manila Bulletin gathered.

One of these groups, the Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (Fejodap), appealed to commuters to understand the plight of jeepney drivers.

"Hopefully they don't take this (fare hike petition) against us. The holiday season all came and went and we tried our bets not to ask for a fare increase," said Zenaida Maranan, Fejodap president.