"I will visit the different gasoline stations that give discounts so that the transportation sector will know where they are located," the President said.

"They give discounts to jeepneys so that the effect of the continuing rise in oil prices will not be felt too much by the drivers," she added.

Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla informed the President that in Quezon City alone, 58 gasoline stations are giving discounts to jeepneys and buses, which form the bulk of public transport facilities.

In a move to shield consumers from speculative oil price increases, the President said that the ongoing review of the Oil Deregulation Law will also focus on the "cartel behavior" of oil companies to ensure that consumers are protected from unreasonable price increases.

Meanwhile, transport, labor, and consumer groups backed yesterday President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s move to break up the oil cartel to protect the people from unreasonable increases in the prices of gasoline, diesel, and other petroleum products.

The groups said that after her appeal and that of the Department of Energy that oil prices should be adjusted upward only when absolutely necessary was ignored by the oil companies, the President must see to it that the oil cartel is dismantled for good.

They said the very reason why Republic Act 8479, the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act, was approved by Congress ten years ago was to break up the oil cartel, but this never happened as shown by the fact that the giant oil firms continue to dictate the prices of petroleum products.

The groups supporting the dismantling of the oil cartel are led by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), Pinag-isang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON), the National Land Transportation Council (NLTC), the Philippine Consumers Foundation (PCF), and Kapisanan ng Malayang Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (KAMPIL).

The TUCP, which claims to have more than 2.5 million members, called on Malacañang to buy back the majority stocks of Petron Corporation inasmuch as the government, through the Philippine National Oil Corporation (PNOC), already owns 40 percent of stocks of Petron.

The TUCP believes that government control of Petron will break up the current oil cartel and prevent the giant oil companies from dictating oil prices.

"We should work together and pressure Congress to repeal the Oil Industry Deregulation Act and to the national government to take over Petron Corporation," the TUCP said. "Our two biggest problems — the uncontrollable fuel prices and skyrocketing prices of commodities and services — is largely the result of the deregulated industry."

To fight the oil cartel effectively, PISTON and NLTC decided to forego any petition to seek for a fare increase, saying it would only add burden to average wage earners and their families who could hardly make both ends meet because of the high cost of living.

Instead of clamoring for a new fare increase, PISTON and NLTC said they will stage separate nationwide transport strikes in the coming weeks to urge the government to put a stop to the surging oil prices.

The move to dismantle the oil cartel was made by President Arroyo upon her return from the Vatican where she attended the burial of Pope John Paul II.

The President said it is imperative to reinforce the anti-cartel provisions of RA 8479 to avert public perception that the government has failed to prevent the collusion of oil companies in unfairly raising gasoline and diesel prices.

"We are implementing various ways to prevent further oil price hikes in the country," the President said.