MANILA — The abrupt leap in local fuel prices that directly followed the levying of steep excise taxes on petroleum products last January appears not to have motivated Filipino motorists to cut back on the use of their cars.
Filipinos seem to have absorbed the substantial oil price hike with little if any change in their travel habits, at least if the sales volumes of PTT Philippines are any indication.
PTT’s marketing director Thitiroj Rergsumran said that the implementation of the TRAIN law last New Year’s Day has not resulted in any perceivable drop in the company’s sales and in fact, the Thai-based oil firm’s local business is poised for expansion.
“No, the new excise tax has not affected our sales volumes, It’s still the same,” Rergsumran told journalists yesterday. He also emphasized that the imposition of the tax on every liter of unleaded gasoline and diesel sold since January 1, has resulted in a “purely pass-on charge” which does not in any way benefit the company’s profit-margins. Government is the only beneficiary of this pass-on charge, he added.
Rergsumran revealed that the number of PTT gas stations in the country will rise to 150 by yearend from only 120 stations today. He said their adjusted goal is to build an additional 30 stations every year from only 15 annually in previous years.
This expansion mode, he explained, is being spurred forward by the encouraging investment climate in the Philippines and the accompanying business opportunities.
PTT’s mid-term vision is to have 300 gas stations by the year 2022, he said.
Meantime, PTT director for commercial fuels and lubricants Vittaya Viboonterawud said that a six-month closure of the island of Boracay is highly unlikely to result in a drop in the firm’s sales of Jet A-1 fuel.
He said that they expect airline companies to simply repurpose their Boracay-bound flights to service other routes during the temporary closure of the popular tourist trap.
The PTT executives said that their company, which came to the Philippines in 2000, now controls about 3 percent of the local petroleum market. They expressed confidence that their market share will be on a steady rise due in part to their aggressive expansion plans. (Miguel Gil/PNA)
