Oil companies faced their harshest criticism yet from the second-highest legislative official in the land following their decision to raise the pump prices of their petroleum products.

House Speaker Prospero Nograles called the latest round of price hike as “the highest form of ingratitude” on the part of the oil companies as it came at a time when the country is still reeling from the massive destruction caused by two powerful cyclones that hit the country of late.

Nograles said the new oil price increase is reflective of the oil firms’ insensitivity and lack of compassion for the millions of their customers who have yet to recover from the devastation wrought by tropical storm “Ondoy” and typhoon “Pepeng.”

“This is really infuriating. While people around the world are trying their best to help us recover from the devastation caused by Ondoy and Pepeng, our own oil companies still have the nerve to increase their prices. This is the highest point of ingratitude,” Nograles said in a statement. Even Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes was not spared from the Speaker’s fury.

The House leader slammed Reyes’ inaction on oil price hikes, saying that the least he could have done was to appeal to the oil firms to “defer the price increases until after the country has returned to a decent level of normalcy.”

“Secretary Angie Reyes could have at least called up these oil companies and appealed for compassion,” Nograles said.

“Millions of people have lost their homes and are largely dependent on whatever support that is given to them by others. This makes me wonder if the DoE (Department of Energy) is still part of the government,” he added.