Investor-members affiliated with the Joint Foreign Chambers have raised alarm over legal machinations exerted by the Executive Department on the imposition of price freeze in the prices of petroleum products – especially since this is happening the first time and in the wake of soaring oil prices in the world market.

What also thrived alarming for investors was the fact that the implementation of Executive Order 389 went through short cut processes. It must be noted that in a typical setting of EO’s implementations, guidelines should first be issued and the required publication generally takes 15 days in newspapers of general circulation.

In the case of EO 389, there was a blanket pronouncement on its immediate imposition. As it was just signed by President Arroyo on October 23, the publication came a day after and implementation came without yet the guidelines. Effectively, the policy imposition came too impetuous that it was likened as anything worse than whatever happened during the Martial Law regime.

The haphazardness of the process was too evident that when the Department of Energy-Department of Justice (DoE-DoJ) Task Force been asked about the specific provisions and legal grounds of the EO’s imposition, many of the questions have just been left unanswered.

For instance, when DoJ Assistant Chief State Counsel Ruben Fondevilla was asked what penalties await companies who will not comply with the EO, he just noted that the other laws underpinning it have yet to be studied.

“At the moment, I cannot point out any particular law,” he just said matter-of-factly. If the implementers of the law are confused, the oil companies are baffled even more, yet they are more concerned as to the implications of such obscure policy impositions as to decisions on future investments and the fate of the deregulated downstream oil industry.

As of press time, major oil firms Petron Corporation, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation and Chevron Philippines already brought down their pump prices to the October 15 level as set forth under the EO.

Meanwhile, Fondevilla stated that EO 389 was rustled up based on circumstances prevailing grounded on the provisions of Section 14 (e) of the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act, stated to wit: “in times of national emergency, when the public interest so requires, the DoE may, during the emergency and under reasonable terms prescribed by it, temporarily take over or direct the operation of any person or entity engaged in the industry.”