The Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers Association (LPGMA) will make official this Tuesday a P3.50 per kilo increase in the price of cooking gas, a hike that the group announced upon the lifting of Executive Order (EO) 839 two weeks ago.

LPGMA President Arnel Ty said the adjustment would translate to a P38.50 add-on for every regular 11-kilo cylinder of LPG sold by independent retailers.

This Tuesday’s price climb would bring the retail price of their LPG cylinders to P620 apiece, which is “at the same price level as those from the big oil firms”, according to Ty.

It was the LPGMA’s second price increase in as many months. On November 1, the group imposed a P4 per kilo adjustment even while the oil industry in Luzon was under EO 839 or the fuel price freeze. Ty justified the November hike by saying that their resulting price of P580 was still within the then prescribed ceiling of P600.

The price freeze order was lifted last November 16.

Ty explained that it is normal for LPG prices to rise during the last quarter of the year as winter countries begin stocking up on their fuel supplies.

The additional world demand ultimately affects international prices, said the LPGMA head.

The LPG hike came amid reported increases in other fuel prices such as diesel and gasoline that have been lined up for the first week of December.

In response to the increases, members of the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (PISTON) held a demonstration in Monumento, Caloocan City over the weekend.

“If this will continue then we will have no choice but to ask for a fare increase,” PISTON General Secretary George San Mateo said, noting that pump prices have increased twice in as many weeks.

San Mateo claimed that jeepney drivers have lost at least P150 in daily income since the lifting of the EO that gave oil companies the green light to raise prices.

As this developed, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile asked Monday the House of Representatives to hasten the passage of its counterpart bill to Senate Bill 3197, known as The Competition Act of 2009,’ designed to ‘’protect consumers from greedy oil companies.’’

Both the Senate and the Lower House are pressed for time to pass important legislation, including Enrile’s bill, following the filing of certificates of candidacy by candidates for national elective positions and the eventual political campaign.

Congress also has yet to pass the proposed 2010 P1.5 trillion national budget. Lawmakers are scheduled to go on a Christmas break starting December 19.

“For the longest time, oil companies have had a heavy hand in using world market prices as a reason to hike fuel prices. These oil companies are quick to respond to upward price adjustments, but when price of crude is down, it is not equally reflected in the pump prices. This cartel-like behavior is a clear violation of the anti-trust bill which the Senate already approved on third reading,” Enrile said.

Enrile said the bill prohibits those engaged in business from monopolizing and abusing their market power through price fixing and price discrimination, bid rigging, limitation and control of markets, agreement to limit and or control markets, and tie-in arrangements, among others.

In reaction to former Socio-economic Planning Secretary Solita Monsod’s comments that the Oil Deregulation Law has prevented oil companies from forming cartels and overpricing gasoline, Enrile said: “To say that there is no monopoly on the prices of fuel is to turn a blind eye on the recent attempts of oil companies to threaten the government with a shutdown of services if the President’s EO 839 was not lifted.”

“The government should force the oil companies to open and make public their books to check whether there is overpricing or not,” he said.

“This is precisely the reason why we need to pass an Anti-Trust law. Hopefully the legislators in the House of Representatives will realize this very urgent need, pass their version of the bill, and after the budget deliberations, we can sit down and work on this important piece of legislation.”