Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo, chairman of the House Committee on Energy, has given the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) a one-week ultimatum to submit an audit report on the financial statements of the country’s top three oil distributors.

Arroyo, son of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, issued the ultimatum as he accused government agencies tasked to conduct the audit of failing to protect the interest of the public against the unabated hike in prices of petroleum products imposed by the Big Three oil players.

Arroyo noted that prices of petroleum products have been soaring in the past several weeks despite reports of a downward trend in prices in the world market.

At the resumption of the Energy Committee hearing on Tuesday, Arroyo asked BIR representative Jethro Subarsiaga to submit its audit report on Petron, Chevron, and Shell after the representatives from the country’s biggest oil industry players presented no objection.

The Pampanga solon said the audit report should be submitted next week. However, he did not mention any possible sanction against the BIR should it fail to heed the directive.

Earlier, Subarsiaga, citing legalities and possible suits to be filed by oil companies against the agency, refused to accede to the committee’s request for copies of the documents.

However, when Arroyo asked the representatives of the oil companies point blank if they would object to having their audited report submitted to the panel, the oil companies said they wouldn’t.

At that juncture, Arroyo ordered Subarsiaga to furnish the panel with copies of the audited report in time for the next committee hearing next week.

“This is what we have been asking for ever since. For the financial statements of the Big Three oil players to be audited along with their cash receipts, cash disbursement books, purchase orders on petroleum products, delivery receipts, sales invoices and other related documents on the purchases of petroleum products from the period of January 2003 to December 2003,” said Arroyo.

“We need those documents to determine if indeed there is overpricing of petroleum products. I am just curious why the BIR, the CoA and the Bureau of Customs had taken a long time to conduct the audit and to furnish this committee a copy of their report even after the court had issued an order to this effect,” Arroyo added.