The principals of Dutch firm Liquigaz and Thai oil company PTT are getting incensed at what is being perceived as “impetuous regulation” of the oil industry in the Philippines via the imposition of Executive Order 839, a scenario that contravenes the deregulation regime when they came into the market.

Liquigaz Philippines president Patrick Libihoul disclosed at the stakeholders meeting convened by Energy Secretary Angelo T. Reyes that his principals are coming over to assess the situation, as he noted that the sudden imposition of the EO thrived immensely disturbing at their head office in Netherlands.

PTT’s parent firm in Bangkok, on one hand, reportedly called the attention of their executives “as to what is happening in the Philippines, why there was sudden imposition of price control.”

The Liguigaz executive said what happened in the oil industry in the past two weeks “was not a normal situation”, hence, this has been giving his principals the impression that the industry was abruptly reverted into a regulated environment.

Liquigaz is among the bigger independent players in the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) industry which invested in the country upon its deregulation in 1998.

He told the energy chief that the use of “national emergency”, due to the typhoons, as legal ground for the issuance of the EO is somewhat tricky, given the fact that this country is visited by more than 20 cyclones in a year.

“The question has to be answered as to the state the industry is currently in, whether we are regulated or deregulated, because we believe we are now regulated,” the Dutch firm executive added.

Libihoul expressed that his principals are deeply concerned that if policies can be altered on a whim and the business environment unpredictably regresses into a regulated set-up, “we cannot stay doing business in such environment.”