Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____ 
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
This proposed measure seeks to amend Republic Act (R.A.) No. 8479, 
otherwise known as the "Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998" in 
an effort to accurately consider international price movements in the pricing of 
petroleum products.  
Among others, this measure shall require the submission of financial documents 
by local oil companies, that are pertinent in the determination of price 
adjustments of petroleum products. Submission of these documents is 
mandatory and penalties for non-compliance are increased. This bill also deems 
it unlawful for oil companies to engage in unwarranted or unreasonable 
amounts of price increase as may be determined by the Department of Energy 
(DOE). 
In view of the foregoing, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
May 15, 2023
9:00 am
8085


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____ 
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
AN ACT 
TO PROMOTE FAIR TRADE IN THE OIL INDUSTRY AND FOR OTHER 
PURPOSES, AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8479, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS 
THE "DOWNSTREAM OIL DEREGULATION ACT OF 1998" 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
Section 1. Section 4 of Republic Act No. 8479 is hereby amended to read as follows: 
"Sec. 4. Definition of Terms. – For purposes of this Act, the following terms are 
herein below defined: 
“xxx 
“(O) PREVAILING RETAIL PRICE - SHALL REFER TO THE CURRENT PUMP 
PRICE OF ALL PETROLEUM PRODUCTS IN THE COUNTRY; 
“[(o)] (P) Singapore Import Parity (SIP) – shall refer to the deemed landed cost 
of a petroleum product imported from Singapore at a free-on board price equal 
to the average Singapore Posting for that product at the time of loading; 
“[(p)] (Q) Singapore Posting – shall refer to the price of petroleum products 
periodically posted by oil refineries in Singapore and reported by independent 
international publications; [and]  
“(R) TASK FORCE – SHALL REFER TO THE OIL MONITORING TASK 
FORCE CREATED UNDER SECTION 2 OF THIS ACT; AND 
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“[(q)] (S) Wholesale Posted Price (WPP) – shall refer to the ceiling price of 
petroleum products set by the Board based on its duly approved automatic 
pricing formula." 
 
Sec. 2. Creation of the Oil Monitoring Task Force. – The Oil Monitoring Task Force 
shall be organized within one (1) month from the effectivity of this Act to implement the 
Anti-Trust safeguards under Section 11 of Republic Act No. 8479 and ensure fair 
competition in the oil industry. 
1)  
Creation and Composition. – The Secretaries of the Departments of Energy 
(DOE), Justice (DOJ) and Trade and Industry (DTI) shall jointly appoint the 
members of the Task Force which shall be composed of an Undersecretary 
from Energy and Justice, as Co-Chair with the following members: 
a)  
One (1) member from the DOE; 
b)  
One (1) member from the DOJ; 
c)  
One (1) member from the DTI; 
d)  
Two (2) members from the consumer and public transport groups which 
have been in existence and active for the last five (5) years prior to this 
Act; and 
e)  
One (1) industry financial expert. 
2)  
The members of the Task Force shall adopt its rules and guidelines in the 
performance of its functions. These guidelines shall ensure the efficiency, 
promptness, and effectiveness in the handling of its cases. 
 
Sec. 3. Powers and Functions of the Oil Monitoring Task Force. – 
a)  
To establish stricter and more industry-specific reporting guidelines; 
b)  
To conduct periodic and unannounced inspections of oil depots and facilities; 
c)  
To inspect the books of accounts of companies engaged in the oil industry; 
d)  
To request all records that are deemed necessary to ensure transparency and 
compliance of all oil industry participants with the provisions of this Act; and 
e)  
To conduct an annual analysis of oil industry performance, including findings 
and issues encountered by the Task Force to be posted in the DOE website. 
 
Sec. 4. Section 10 of Republic Act No. 8479 is hereby amended to read as follows: 
 


 
"Sec. 10. Promotion of Retail Competition. - THE TASK FORCE SHALL ADOPT 
ALL MEASURES TO PROMOTE FAIR TRADE IN THE RETAIL MARKET AND 
THE CONSUMERS' RIGHT OF ACCESS TO ANY AND ALL INFORMATION 
REGARDING THE PRICES OF ALL PETROLEUM PRODUCTS IN THE 
RETAIL MARKET. THE TASK FORCE SHALL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE 
MOVEMENT OF OIL PRICES IN THE RETAIL MARKET AND POST THE 
PREVAILING RETAIL PRICES ON THE DOE'S OFFICIAL WEBSITE AND 
PUBLISH THE SAME IN AT LEAST TWO (2) NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS OF 
GENERAL CIRCULATION ON A BIWEEKLY BASIS. THESE PRACTICES 
ARE INTENDED TO PROVIDE THE CONSUMERS WIDER ACCESS TO 
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS THAT GIVE BEST VALUE FOR MONEY." 
 
“To achieve the social and policy objective of fair prices, facilitate the attainment 
of a truly competitive product market in the retail level, the DOE shall promote 
and encourage by way of information dissemination, networking, and 
management/skills training, the active and direct participation of the private 
sector and cooperatives in the retailing of petroleum products through joint 
venture/supply agreements with new industry participants for the establishment 
and operation of gasoline stations: Provided, That the training herein shall 
include LPG retailing. 
“xxx 
“xxx 
“xxx 
“xxx”. 
 
Sec. 5. Section 11 of Republic Act No. 8479 is hereby amended to read as follows: 
 
"Sec. 11. Anti-Trust Safeguards. – To ensure fair competition and prevent cartels 
and monopolies in the Industry, the following acts are hereby prohibited: 
“(a) xxx 
“(b) xxx 
“Any person, including but not limited to the chief operating officer, chief 
executive officer or chief finance officer of the partnership, corporation or any 
entity involved, who is found guilty of any of the said prohibited acts shall suffer 


 
the penalty of three (3) to seven (7) years imprisonment, and a fine ranging from 
[One million pesos (P 1,000,000.00) to] Two million pesos (P 2,000,000.00) TO 
THREE MILLION PESOS (P 3,000,000.00)." 
 
Sec. 6. Section 12 of Republic Act No. 8479 is hereby amended to read as follows: 
 
"Sec. 12. Other Prohibited Acts. – To ensure compliance with the provisions of 
this Act, the refusal to comply with any of the following shall likewise be 
prohibited: 
“(a) Submission of any reportorial requirements SUCH AS BUT NOT LIMITED 
TO BOOKS OF ACCOUNTS, AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, 
VERIFIED 
REPORTS 
OF 
THE 
COMPANY'S 
ASSUMPTIONS 
AND 
COMPUTATIONS IN THE PRICING OF THEIR PETROLEUM PRODUCTS, 
WHETHER IN THE PROCESSING, REFINING, DISTRIBUTING OR SELLING 
OF SAID PRODUCTS, TO ENSURE THAT OIL COMPANIES ARE NOT 
INVOLVED IN PROFITEERING; 
“(b) xxx 
“(c) xxx 
“(d) xxx. 
“Any person, including but not limited to the chief operating officer or chief 
executive officer of the partnership, corporation or any entity involved, who is 
found guilty of any of the said prohibited acts shall suffer the penalty of 
imprisonment for two (2) years and a fine ranging from [Two hundred fifty 
thousand pesos (P 250,000.00 to] Five hundred thousand pesos (P 500,000.00) 
TO SEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY THOUSAND PESOS (P 750,000.00). 
 
"IT SHALL LIKEWISE BE UNLAWFUL TO CAUSE THE UNNECESSARY 
INCREASE OR CAUSE AN UNREASONABLE AMOUNT OF INCREASE IN 
THE PRICES OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS UNDER SECTION 7 OF THIS 
ACT." 
 
Sec. 7. Section 14 of Republic Act No. 8479 is hereby amended to read as follows: 
 


 
"Sec. 14. MONITORING. – (a) The DOE shall monitor ACTIVELY and publish 
daily international crude oil prices, as well as follow the movements of domestic 
oil prices. IT SHALL DETERMINE THE FACTORS WHICH CAUSE THE 
CHANGE IN THE PRICES OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS, EVALUATE THE 
NECESSITY OF THE CHANGE IN THE PRICES AND THE REASONABILITY 
OF THE AMOUNTS OF INCREASE OR DECREASE BASED ON THE 
ACTUAL CONDITIONS OF THE MARKET AND OTHER CAUSATIVE AND 
CONTRIBUTORY FACTORS AS IT MAY DETERMINE. It shall likewise monitor 
the quality of petroleum products and stop the operation of businesses involved 
in the sale of petroleum products which do not comply with the national standards 
of quality that are aligned with the national standards/protocols of quality. The 
Bureau of Product Standards of the DTI, together with the Department of 
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the DOE, the Department of 
Science and Technology (DOST), representatives of the fuel and automotive 
industries and the consumers, shall set the specifications for all types of fuel and 
fuel-related products to improve fuel composition for increased efficiency and 
reduced emissions. The BPS shall also specify the allowable content of additives 
in all types of fuels and fuel-related products. 
“(b) xxx 
“(c) The DOE shall maintain a periodic schedule of present and future total 
industry inventory of petroleum products for the purpose of determining the level 
of supply FOR THE SUCCEEDING MONTH. To implement this, the importers, 
refiners, and marketers are hereby required to submit [monthly] EVERY THIRD 
WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH to the DOE their FORTY FIVE (45) - DAY 
INVENTORY of actual importations, local purchases, sales and/or consumption 
[and inventory] on a per crude/product basis. 
“(d) Any report from any person of an unreasonable [rise] CHANGE in the prices 
of petroleum products shall be immediately acted upon. For this purpose, the 
[creation of the DOE DOJ] Task Force is hereby mandated to determine within 
thirty (30) days the merits of the report and initiate the necessary actions 
warranted under the circumstance: Provided, That nothing herein shall prevent 
the said Task Force from investigating and/or filing the necessary complaint with 
the proper court or agency motu propio. 


 
[Upon the effectivity of this Act, the Secretaries of Energy and Justice shall jointly 
appoint the members of a committee who shall be tasked with the drafting of the 
rules and guidelines to be adopted by the Task force in the performance of its 
duty. These guidelines shall ensure the efficiency, promptness, and 
effectiveness in the handling of its cases. The Task Force shall be organized and 
its members appointed within one (1) month from the effectivity of this Act.] 
“(e) In times of national emergency, when the public interest so requires, the 
DOE may, during the emergency and under reasonable terms prescribed by it, 
temporarily take over or direct the operation of any person or entity engaged in 
the Industry." 
 
Sec. 8. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – The Department of Energy, in 
coordination with the Department of Justice, Department of Trade and Industry, and 
representatives from the consumer and transport groups, shall within sixty (60) days 
from the effectivity of this Act, promulgate the rules and regulations to effectively 
implement the provisions of this Act. 
 
Sec. 9. Separability Clause. – If any portion or provision of this Act is declared 
unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act or any provisions not affected thereby shall 
remain in force and effect. 
 
Sec. 10. Repealing Clause. – Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
order, letter of instruction, rule or regulation inconsistent with the provisions of this Act 
is hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
 
Sec. 11. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following its 
complete publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general 
circulation. 
 
Approved,