Every P1.50 oil hike
Oil firm earn P4.7-M daily profit from fishers - group

LUCENA CITY -- With every upward adjustment of P1.50 per liter of fuel products, oil companies in the Philippines earned an automatic P4.7 million daily in total gross profits from small fisherfolk, according to an official of the militant Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) In a statement, Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap, said with the regularity of fuel price hikes every six days at an average of P1.50/ liter, oil companies rake in at least P28.2 million on the first week, P 56.4 million – 2nd week, P169.2 million – 3rd week and P676.8 million – 4th week.

“We are talking here of just a span of one month. How about the succeeding months? How more much oil companies will further rob us in broad daylight courtesy of the oil cartel, the 12 percent VAT on oil and the oil deregulation law?,” Hicap said.

Using the 2002 based figure obtained from the National Statistics Office, the militant group said there are about 313,985 small fish boat operators in the country that employ at least an average of 10 liters of gasoline per fishing trip.

The fishermen leader said the weekly hikes in the prices of petroleum products have pushed small fishermen operating small motorized boats to reduce fishing hours from the usual 8 to 12 hours, to 4 to 8 hours.

“Others sidelined either as tricycle drivers or construction workers outside their fishing villages,” he said.
Even fisherfolk with no motorized bancas and are only using paddle to sail away to the sea to catch are also affected by rising cost of fuel products since they use an average of 1 to 2 liters of kerosene to light up their lamp per fishing trip, according to Pamalakaya.
Citing the same data from NSO, Pamalakaya said there are about 653,000 paddle using fishermen across the country.
Citing result of their own studies, Hicap said the weekly increases in the prices of petroleum products have eaten up 65 percent to 80 percent of their cost of production.
In 2001, small fisherman only spends around P180 for gasoline, according to Hicap. But with the current fuel price, small fishing boats spend P600 for gasoline alone.

Prices of diesel went up by 738 percent, gasoline by 572 percent and liquefied petroleum gas by 499 percent since the implementation of the oil deregulation law, Hicap said. Last month, Hicap said they submitted letters of appeal to Senate President Manuel Villar and Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap to act on the fisherfolk demands urging the government to address the economic woes of small fisherfolk effected by the weekly hikes in the prices of petroleum products.

Among the demands include a monthly P7,500 oil subsidy for small fishermen employing small motorized boats, P3,000 monthly economic assistance to small fishermen using paddle or gearless fishermen, the removal of 12 percent VAT on oil and the repeal of Oil Deregulation Law.

Pamalakaya has also proposed the immediate suspension of payment for debt interest amounting to P12.1 billion and re-channel the funds to relief and rehabilitation efforts. However, Malacañang rejected the proposal.

While already reeling from high prices of fuel, fishermen also have to deal with decreasing catch as a result of fishing areas being eaten up by offshore drilling projects, the Pamalakaya said.

According to Pamalakaya, at least 13 firms were currently engaged in offshore drilling. (STM)