CEBU CITY – House Energy Committee Chairman, Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo recently led the House committee inquiry on the alleged higher prices of fuel products in Cebu as compared to Manila and other parts of the country.

Said inquiry was attended by Cebuano lawmakers who grilled representatives of the three major oil companies on questions why the prices of fuel products in Cebu are higher compared to the other parts of the country.

The congressional inquiry stemmed from a complaint by Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia with the Department of Energy-Department of Justice task force on oil deregulation, on said price discrepancies on fuel.

Garcia, along with representatives from the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, joined the Cebuano congressmen in Monday’s hearing.

In the hearing, the representatives of the oil companies said market forces heavily affected the price of fuel products in Cebu.

Cebu South District Rep. Antonio Cuenco disputed the reason cited the oil firms’ representatives and insisted it was not enough to increase prices of fuel products in Cebu.

Cuenco said Cebuanos want straightforward answers on why they are being made to pay higher fuel price even as he also accused the three major oil companies, Petron, Shell, and Chevron, of violating the oil deregulation law.

For his part, former Cebu Governor and 1st District Rep. Pablo Garcia challenged the DoE-DoJ task force to immediately file criminal charges against the three major oil companies who seemed unmoved by the complaint of the Cebuanos.

The holding of the inquiry in Cebu was seen by many Cebuanos as a first step victory by the province in its battle against the three major oil companies where said issue of fuel prices is concerned. Garcia earlier said it was just proper for the inquiry to be conducted in Cebu because the province stands as the complainant.

The Cebu governor filed the complaints after the three oil companies failed to give satisfactory explanations on why fuel cost per liter is higher in Cebu than in other parts of the country.

Garcia said the charges, which include the various chambers of commerce in Cebu and PhilExport as complainants, will hopefully open the books of the three oil companies for scrutiny.

The issue on the disparity of fuel prices was raised during an earlier meeting of the PhilExport Cebu and the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.