House probe sought into possible oil price abuse amid record fuel hikes

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March 30, 2026 | 6:20pm

MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker is seeking a House inquiry into the Philippines' steep diesel price increases — including whether oil companies have engaged in profiteering, price gouging, or collusion — as the transport sector continues to reel from soaring fuel costs.

Rep. Leila de Lima (Mamamayang Liberal), House senior deputy minority leader, filed twin resolutions targeting two sides of the current oil crisis. House Resolution 914 seeks a probe into the diesel price surge, and House Resolution 915 urges the Marcos administration to implement a fair fare increase for PUV drivers, operators, and workers.

In the first resolution, De Lima argues the Philippines has registered among the steepest diesel price hikes in the world despite being similarly situated with other oil-importing economies. 

The lawmaker believes the public must know whether domestic prices have gone beyond what can be considered as reasonable cost recovery by oil firms.  

"The staggering surge in diesel prices raise urgent questions as to whether the present pricing regime under the downstream oil deregulation framework sufficiently protects the public against abuse, speculative pricing, market concentration, unjustified price movements, and the full and immediate transmission of external shocks to domestic pump prices," the resolution read.

The measure would examine whether the 1998 Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act still adequately shields consumers during periods of global disruption, and whether the Department of Energy, the Department of Trade and Industry, and the Philippine Competition Commission have sufficient authority to investigate and act on unreasonable price movements.

Fare hike standoff

House Resolution 915, meanwhile, takes aim at the stalled fare hikes, which De Lima says has battered public utility vehicle drivers dealing with rising fuel prices.

On March 18, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the suspension of a planned fare hike that the LTFRB had already approved. The across-the-board provisional increase — covering jeepneys, buses, taxis, and ride-hailing services — was supposed to take effect the following day.

De Lima called on Marcos, the Department of Transportation, and the LTFRB to grant PUV drivers a "necessary and reasonable" fare increase. She said the sector should not be forced to absorb ballooning fuel and operating costs on their own.

"Our PUV drivers and operators understand that the fare hike will also put an additional burden on commuters, so some are already resorting to begging to increase their income," the lawmaker said in a statement. 

"But where will they be picked up and how much worse will they be when diesel is already so expensive, and the aid they received is still inadequate?" she added.

Broader fallout

De Lima is filing these two resolutions with an eye for future price surges that may happen down the line in other commodities. 

Diesel, she stressed, is a "critical input" in logistics, food distribution, power generation, agriculture, and fisheries, meaning sharp increases directly fuel inflation.

Her resolutions call for remedial legislation to protect consumers and vulnerable sectors from unjustified fuel costs and to prevent a repeat of similar price shocks.

The twin measures by De Lima come as the Philippines confronts its worst fuel crisis in years amid the de-facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Pump prices have spiked from around P56–P57 per liter in early 2026 to over P100–P130 per liter by late March.

Marcos declared a state of national energy emergency on March 24 and the government has rolled out cash aid for PUV drivers and free rides in certain parts of the capital. 

But transport groups have dismissed these as insufficient and have called for the removal of the 12% value-added tax and excise taxes on petroleum products.