MANILA, Philippines - Reviewing the Oil Deregulation Law is on the table at the House of Representatives.
"Yes, definitely, that is included", Marikina 2nd District Rep. Miro Quimbo, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, said in Filipino and English in a virtual media interview on Tuesday on the coming joint House committee hearings aimed at helping Filipinos amid the conflict in the Middle East.
"I think it's very clear to us that, you know, a totally unregulated [oil] industry like ours--I mean, it's great for first world countries. It works there because, like I say, deregulated is really good because they are competing among themselves. And in fact, you see it in some retail areas, they are really competing for lower prices. But the basic component that is missing is that you have a very strong law enforcement mechanism relative to making sure that competition actually takes place", he said.
"In other countries, that is already very much alive, their antitrust, they really penalize, their ability to look into the bank accounts, into the records of these companies for them to see whether there seems to be price fixing or price collusion", he said.
Quimbo said the country's "anti-competition culture" was still "very immature" so "that is what we need to give a second look at."