MANILA, Philippines — Aside from examining their profit levels and price movements, the seven-man Independent Review Committee (IRC) will also dig into the “abuses” committed by players in the deregulated oil industry.

According to lawyer Vigor Mendoza, an IRC member representing the transport sector, they are now fleshing out the terms of reference (TOR) which shall serve as the framework for the review of the oil firms’ records and books of accounts.

“We are planning to expand the coverage of the review…we also have to look into the abuses of the oil companies,” he said in a chance interview.

Mendoza explained that by probing the “alleged abuses” of the industry players, the committee would be able to come up with recommendations on proposals to strengthen, not only the monitoring function but also the policing power of the Department of Energy (DoE), over the market forces-driven industry.

“We need to come up with a basis for policy recommendations if there would actually be a need to reinforce the powers of the DoE because it has been one of the complaints that its power is so weak when it comes to penalizing players committing abuses,” he stressed.

At the panel’s Monday meeting though, it was gathered that the parameters of the review are still being thoroughly discussed – especially in establishing the “baseline” so they would be able to determine whether or not the oil companies have indeed accrued “excessive profits” as compared to other industries.

The other major concern being discussed by the IRC delves on the expanded coverage of the review. Currently, it is only the six oil companies affiliated with the Petroleum Institute of the Philippines (PIP) which are being considered in the scrutiny of financial records as well as on their respective business conducts in the industry.

Mendoza admitted that it has not been decided yet whether they will also call on the members of the Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies Association (IPPCA) to become part of the review process. “That’s still being discussed,” he said.

The incessant upticks in prices at the gas pumps prompted the Department of Energy (DoE) to call for this new round of examination of the oil firms’ books. So far, it will be the third one because similar audit undertakings were already done in 2005 and 2008.