After much shellacking from politicians and transports groups for being too slow in lowering their pump prices, publicly listed Petron Corp offered their financial files for scrutiny so that politicians can check for themselves if the company is indeed profiting unjustly with their product pricing.
Petron Public Affairs Manager Virginia A. Ruivivar. said : “If lawmakers actually look into our financial position, they would find that we are in a very difficult situation.”
Early this year the Department of Energy directed auditing firm Sycip, Gorres and Velayo, Co. and the University of Asia and the Pacific to audit the books of oil firms.
The results of their study revealed that Petron’s return on equity from 2005 to 2007 — when oil prices were rising — was much lower than interest rates on Treasury Bills and Treasury Bonds. The study also found that local pump prices did not go up as fast as the price of crude and finished products abroad during the period.
Petron is partly owned by the Philippine government and has 4 appointed directors on the board to represent them. They act as a check and balance on behalf of government so as to prevent any unjust pricing and profiteering.
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Category: Oil, Oil Price, Petron
