MANILA, Philippines – Petron Corp. chairman Ramon Ang said the government should strengthen efforts to curb oil smuggling, claiming oil smugglers are now controlling 30 to 35 percent of the petroleum industry.
“We have a basis for these figures. It was a result from a study conducted on oil smuggling. The study showed that 30 to 35 percent of the industry today is coming from oil smuggling. This accounts for P30 billion to P35 billion foregone revenues for the government. These are taxes not being paid to the government,” he said, but did not mention the name of the institution that conducted the study.
“Given this situation, efforts should be intensified in going after these smugglers. But the question is…can we (the country) do it? Are we equipped to curb smuggling?” he added.
Ang said the Oil Deregulation Law of 1998, which transferred oil price control from the government to oil firms, opened “floodgates for oil smugglers.”
He said the government should go after the “big fish” to stop oil smuggling.
“It will be very hard to regulate and control these illegal activities. Their operations are everywhere. Up to now, they haven’t caught big oil smugglers. They are catching the small time violators, like the drivers and tricycle boys,” he added.
When asked if Petron’s operation is affected by smuggling, Ang said they would continue to operate based on market forces.
“We will play the game in town,” he said. –Donnabelle Gatdula (The Philippine Star)
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