The Energy Department “totally mishandled” the freezing and subsequent unfreezing of oil prices following the series of typhoons which hit the country, businessman Joey de Venecia III said yesterday.
“The government should have done everything possible to keep the prices of oil and petroleum products down in the weeks following Ondoy and Pepeng,” De Venecia said. “It could have resorted to creative solutions instead of knee-jerk, short-term palliatives.”
Immediately after the government lifted Executive Order 839 which froze oil prices, the pump prices of diesel, gasoline and all petroleum products rose from P1.50 to P2 per liter to the detriment of Filipino consumers.
As a result, jeepney driver organizations are now clamoring for a P1 hike in the minimum fare.
The young De Venecia placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes who he said “could have done better.”
“In the most trying of times, creative solutions are most needed,” according to the son and namesake of former Speaker Jose de Venecia. “Whether in the private or public sector, the best managers or executives are those who think outside the box. They are the ones who can ride out a storm with aplomb.”
Secretary Reyes “offered nothing new to the public,” he added but merely “clerical and mechanical” solutions.
De Venecia said the government could have worked with the oil companies to find ways to cut their operating costs in order to protect their profit margins.
He said belt-tightening measures is one of many steps that private companies can resort to in the face of hard times.
