BY WENDELL VIGILIA
THREE militant lawmakers yesterday said
President Arroyo should replace Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes
who they claimed has been acting as "spokesman" for major oil
companies on the issue of shortage in the supply of liquefied
petroleum gas (LPG).
"Sa hearing ng House of Representatives, si
Secretary Reyes ay nagsilbing spokesman ng three oil
companies. Wala siyang independent na pag-aaral na ginawa
hingil sa artificial LPG shortage," Rep. Liza Maza
(PL-Gabriela) said.
Maza said Reyes should resign if the
President decides not replace him. "Hindi niya kaya ang
trabaho niya dahil publiko ang na-agrabyado," she said.
Retailers have blamed Pilipinas Shell,
Caltex and Petron for the shortage of LPG supply in Metro
Manila in the past month, by cutting deliveries to their own
retailers.
Arnel Ty, president of the LPG Marketers
Association, told the House committee on energy last week that
the 138 re-fillers, 1,200 dealers and 10,000 outlets are in no
position to collude in hoarding their stocks as claimed by the
energy department.
Reyes refuted this claim, saying hoarders
and illegal re-fillers are causing the problem. Illegal
re-fillers load only unbranded cylinders, causing the absence
of branded cylinders in the market.
Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan (PL-Gabriela) said
the LPG shortage is the latest and most pressing reason for
the President to replace Reyes.
"He has not competently managed the
Department of Energy," she said. "He has even acted as
spokesperson of the giant oil companies, failing to protect
the interest of the poor Filipinos."
"But his replacement should not be another
retired military man. The bureaucracy is full of them
already," she said.
Rep. Risa Hontiveros (PL-Akbayan) said
Reyes should either be relieved or just resign.
"He said there is kink in the distribution
system, then he should locate and iron them out instead of
automatically siding with the big three versus independent
re-fillers without substantiating his analysis," she said.
Hontiveros also said the purported LPG supply shortage is
the latest argument for the repeal the Oil Deregulation Law
which allows players to set their own prices.