TRINKLED

Unioil starts new round of P0.50/L hike in pump prices

Independent oil firm Unioil Petroleum Phils. has started a new round of increases in prices as it announced a P0.50 per liter hike on its products starting Saturday midnight.
In a statement, Unioil said the oil price hike is "due to the continued increase in the prices of petroleum products in the world market."
The fresh oil price increase will take effect 12:01 a.m., Saturday.
This will be the seventh consecutive weekend where oil companies hiked pump prices by P0.50 per liter.
ABS-CBN News correspondent Charo Logarta reported that the crude oil in the world market increased by one dollar, from $96.76 per barrel last March to $98.02 this April.
For the global trade for unleaded gas leaped from $109.78 per barrel to $114.07 per barrel while diesel hiked from $135.72 to $129.04 in the period of March to April.
Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes admitted that the government could not stop the increase of oil prices due to the global market forces.
"We have to accept na mataas ang presyo ng gasolina. Eh kung ang US nga walang magawa tayo pa kaya," Reyes said.
Minimum fare hike?
The successive hikes in pump prices has compelled transport groups to renew efforts to ask the government for a P1.50 increase in the minimum fare for jeepney and P2.00 increase for bus.
Once granted, the minimum fare would be P9 for the first five kilometers for jeeps while P10 for buses.
Jeepney operators said that they will also be asking the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board P0.75 for every succeeding kilometer after the first five kilometers while bus operators would be seeking P0.35 for every kilometer.
Provincial bus operators meanwhile were reported to be eyeing an increase of 30% in their fare.
Transport groups however said that they may not push through with their petitions if the government would immediately implement a single-ticketing system in n Metro Manila, intensify the campaign against "colorum" transport operators and campaign against "kotong" or cops mulcting drivers of public transports. They also asked oil companies to increase the discount in pump prices for public utility vehicles.
"Eh kung pwede tatlong piso eh di hindi na namin kailangan magtaas at kung sana maaring dagdagan nila ang mga station, kasi ngayon iilan lang ang nakikinabang talaga diyan sa discount nila," said Zenaida Maranan, president of the Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers of the Philippines.