The country’s major oil companies did not wait long to follow the lead of their smaller industry counterparts, raising their pump prices from P1.50 to P2 per liter across products effective at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, and transport groups said they would seek an increase in commuter fares should diesel prices hit P35 per liter.

Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, Petron Corporation and Chevron Philippines successively made their price adjustments close to midnight Tuesday, barely two days after Malacañang lifted a price ceiling on oil products that was in effect since late October.

Petron and Shell also announced a P2 per kilogram hike for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) products, pushing the pickup price of the standard 11-kilogram cylinder of cooking gas higher by P22.

The retail price of LPG products in Metro Manila outlets will now range from P565 to P634.

“The adjustment is in line with EO (Executive Order) 845 which lifts the oil price freeze mandated under EO 839,” Shell vice president Roberto S. Kanapi said in a media advisory.

Alongside the newly implemented price adjustments, Shell announced that it will be extending assistance to calamity-stricken areas pursuant to the provisions of EO 845.

Petron, for its part, specified that its price adjustments “will only take effect in Luzon” as it similarly indicated adherence to granting assistance packages to the victims of recent typhoons.

Independent players Flying V and Phoenix Petroleum also adjusted prices immediately following Eastern Petroleum’s announcement Tuesday.

In the past weeks when EO 839 was in force, global oil prices moved slightly, but it never reached a lower level that would allow domestic oil companies to offset losses they have incurred from the price freeze imposition.

Based on the Department of Energy’s monitoring, last week’s trading pulled up benchmark Dubai crude prices by $5 to $78 per barrel compared to the October average of $73 per barrel.

The regional spot price of unleaded gasoline as referenced on the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) also climbed $3 per barrel to $81 on average from last month’s $78 per barrel.

Diesel price was on a more dramatic uptrend of roughly $5 per barrel to $85 as of November 16 from the previous month’s average of $80 per barrel.

At 6 a.m. Wednesday, new oil player Phoenix Petroleum Philippines hiked its diesel price by P2 a liter and gasoline by P1.50 a liter. Another small player, Unioil Philippines, quietly added P1.50 a liter on all its products on Tuesday morning.

Consumers and motorists who reveled during the days of the price freeze can only expect more hikes in the future, with Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies Association (IPPCA) Chairman Fernando Martinez saying they are aiming to increase pump prices by as much as P4.50.

“Gagawin nating staggered yan for two to three weeks para hindi masyado mabigatan ang tao,” said Martinez, who is president of Eastern Petroleum.

(With a report from Francis T. Wakefield)