Spiraling prices

Egay Uy .

THE skyrocketing prices of prime commodities and basic necessities have always been a subject of complaints from end-users because we get to bear the burden, not only of the margins dictated by wholesalers and retailers but by the impact of taxes.

Of late, the city price coordinating council which, I co-chair with Mayor Oscar Moreno, sort of inventoried the deliveries of fuel by petroleum products retailers in the city. This was conducted in collaboration with the Department of Energy whose personnel from Davao City led by Mr. Rodolfo Leal motored to the Cagayan de Oro to lead the inspections.

As we have mentioned, there is no control on the prices of petroleum products which is driven by market forces, both local and international.  Because of that, your Cagayan de Oro City Price Coordination Council requested the DOE to collaborate in the endeavor in order to assure the consuming public that they get what they pay for in terms of gasoline and diesel fuel products.

The price coordinating council joined the DOE team on Sept. 11, 2018.  That day, we were able to inspect 18 gasoline stations or retail outlets of big three and new players. The DOE team then proceeded to inspect the rest of the gasoline stations which number more than one hundred in the city.

As we have learned in earlier collaborative inspections, the delivery of gasoline and diesel fuel by gasoline stations to end-users has an allowable tolerance of negative 50 milligrams for every 10 liters of fuel. While this is a very small portion of the total delivery of 10 liters, we have to ensure that gasoline stations are compliant otherwise the end-users end up being shortchanged.

Of the 18, no gasoline station delivered less than the allowable tolerance, and some others delivered more than the zero level of calibration. This means they delivered extra to end-users. The other findings included the lack of updated calibration stickers which I promptly brought to the attention of the City Finance Office through Mr. Eugene Estipona who would look into the matter.

Also on our request, the DOE issued an advisory to gasoline stations to be more vigilant and cautious security-wise, to keep their employees updated about security precautions, and to prepare for any eventuality within their respective gasoline and service stations.

The gasoline-themed inspections were just one among the concerns now being tackled by the price coordinating council.

We are also coordinating with the National Food Authority for the monitoring of rice supply in our area. The spiraling price of rice could be artificial and deliberate.