Malacañang Wednesday asked the country’s oil companies, including the Big Three, to explain their imposition of uniform price oil increases a few days before the New Year.

Presidential economic spokesperson Gary Olivar said the Arroyo government will look into the hikes implemented by oil giants Pilipinas Shell, Petron Corp. and Chevron Philippines.

The oil firms announced a uniform price hike of P1 per liter on gasoline and 50 centavos a liter on diesel and kerosene last Monday, strengthening the long-held belief among market watchers that they are engaged in cartel pricing which is against the law.

“Because of our position as a small buyer facing an oligopoly, we would have to see the paper trail behind this price increase in order to evaluate its market fairness,” he said.

“To do this, we will expect the higher level of transparency that the oil companies promised us after the recent freeze on their prices in Luzon,” he added.

He said the Palace is counting on the oil companies to fulfill their commitments to Mrs. Arroyo when she lifted the oil price freeze on Nov. 13 on the condition that the oil firms will not make “drastic increases” on fuel prices.

The companies also pledged to invest more and to fulfill their corporate social responsibility.

President Arroyo issued Executive Order 839 at the end of October freezing prices of oil products at October 15 levels as part of emergency measures to protect Luzon consumers who were adversely affected by storms and devastating floods starting at the end of September.

Mrs. Arroyo lifted the EO on November 13 after the oil giants, business sectors, transport groups and labor leaders agreed to support the conditions set by Mrs. Arroyo to protect public interest during a meeting at Malacañang’s Aguinaldo State Dining Room.

With the lifting of EO 839, the Makati Regional Trial Court rendered as moot and academic the petition of Pilipinas Shell to restrain Malacañang from implementing the freeze on the price of petroleum products.

However, affected sectors such as public utility drivers and consumers said the lifting of the EO exposed them to abuses by the oil companies.