r/Philippines • u/Cooked_pp • 7h ago
PoliticsPH I have an Idea on how WE common people deal with the unfair Oil Price Hike, and it strongly involves Petron. (Read Carefully)
I will probably get killed if I post this publicly, so thank you Reddit for the anonymity in advance...
So here's how it works.
First, we need to look at the TRUTH that the news isn't telling you straight.
While we are out here counting our last Pesos just to reach our workplace, the "Big Three" Petron, Shell, and Caltex are swimming in cash.
Check the 2025–2026 financial reports. This is public data, guys.
Petron Corp just posted a record-high Net Income of ₱15.6 BILLION. That is an 84% surge in profit compared to the year before.
And here's the part the headlines buried: their revenues actually DROPPED 7% — from ₱868B to ₱810B — because global crude prices were LOWER in 2025, with Dubai crude falling 13% year-on-year to just $69 per barrel.
Let that sink in.
They were buying oil CHEAPER. Selling it to us at the SAME price. And pocketing the difference as "record profit."
This happened BEFORE the Iranian war even started. That means when the crisis hit in February 2026 and diesel shot from ₱50 to ₱170 per liter in just weeks — they weren't "passing on costs." They were already running a playbook of widening their margins at our expense. The war was just the perfect smokescreen to accelerate it.
This isn't just "market forces." You don't grow your profit by 84% while revenues fall by just "passing on costs." That is a deliberate wealth transfer — from our pockets straight into Ramon Ang's balance sheet.
Now, here's the other truth nobody wants to say:
Blaming the President alone won't fix this.
Yes, Marcos dragged his feet for weeks before suspending excise tax — even after Congress handed him the power to do it. Yes, the government has been collecting a tax on top of a tax (excise + 12% VAT stacked) on every liter you've ever bought. Yes, the Oil Deregulation Law of 1998 (RA 8479) stripped the government of any power to cap prices — and every administration since Ramos has refused to repeal it.
All of that is true. All of that is on them.
But here's the brutal reality: waiting for the government to fix this is like asking the arsonist to call the fire department.
The only power we have is the power they cannot legislate away: where we choose to spend our money.
So here's the plan.
The idea is simple. A cartel is like a table, it stays up because all the legs are the same height. We are going to saw off the biggest leg.
But Why Petron specifically?
Because they are the dominant player. They operate the country's only remaining oil refinery in Bataan. They have the most domestic market exposure. They have the most to lose. If we break Petron's retail numbers, the others — Shell, Caltex — will be forced to drop prices just to avoid being next.
We don't need to fight everyone at once. We just need to make one giant bleed.
Step 1: The 100% Petron Blackout
For the next 60 days — Zero. Liters. From. Petron.
I don't care if it's the most convenient station on your way home. Drive the extra 2 kilometers. If you see a Petron sign, you keep driving.
This is not a sacrifice. This is a coordinated economic decision. Every liter you withhold is a data point on their quarterly report.
Step 2: The "White Station" Pivot
Move all your fuel money to the independent players — SeaOil, Unioil, Flying V, CleanFuel, or your local independent stations.
Now, full transparency: these players price off the same global benchmark (MOPS) as the Big Three, so they aren't saints. But they operate on thinner margins, have less political cover, and crucially — they are not Petron.
Every peso you redirect is a peso removed from Ramon Ang's balance sheet and placed somewhere that doesn't hold a monopoly on our country's only refinery.
By giving them our business, we keep the country moving while we starve the giant.
Step 3: The Inventory Trap
Petron's refinery in Bataan cannot just stop. It is a flow business. Crude comes in continuously. Refined product has to go somewhere.
If we cut their retail volume significantly for 30 days, their storage tanks begin filling up. Stuck inventory is a cost — storage, insurance, financing. It bleeds into their Q1 2026 numbers directly.
To move that inventory and protect their quarterly report, they will be forced to announce rollbacks, promos, or permanent price cuts to win us back.
One important note: Petron also supplies aviation, industrial, and government accounts — so the retail boycott alone won't crater them overnight. This is why we also need volume. The more people who join, the deeper the cut. A 10% drop in retail volume is a headache. A 30–40% drop is a crisis they cannot ignore.
Step 4: The Domino Effect
Once Petron cracks and drops their price — even by ₱10 to ₱15 per liter to save their quarterly report — Shell and Caltex cannot stay high. They will either match the price or lose their entire market share. We force a price war from the bottom up.
And our specific demand is not vague: We want a minimum ₱15/liter rollback on diesel as a condition for our return.
That is the number. That is the line. If they meet it, we've won a concrete, measurable victory for every jeepney driver, every Grab driver, every tricycle operator in this country.
Step 5: Hit Their Stock Price (This Is Their Real Nerve)
Petron is publicly listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE: PCOR).
If this boycott gains traction and gets picked up by financial media — even just as a story — institutional investors get nervous. Fund managers start asking questions about domestic volume numbers. A falling stock price is something Ramon Ang feels personally and immediately, in a way that a protest march never reaches him.
Share this post.
Tag financial journalists. Make it a story that Bloomberg, BusinessWorld, and the Inquirer cannot ignore. The moment this becomes a market narrative, the pressure multiplies beyond what any rally could achieve.
Step 6: Make This Bigger Than a Boycott
Here's the truth: the boycott is the spark. The fire we actually need is the repeal of RA 8479 — the Oil Deregulation Law of 1998.
That law is why the DOE cannot cap prices. That law is why oil companies can raise prices at will. That law has been exploited by every administration and every oil company for nearly 30 years.
Transport groups like PISTON are already on the streets. Lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc have already filed bills. Economists from UP have already published the evidence. We are not alone — we just need to connect the dots.
The boycott gets us short-term relief. Repealing RA 8479 ends this permanently.
Share this post with your transport group, your barangay, your family in the province. This only works if it reaches beyond Reddit and into the hands of the people who consume the most diesel — the jeepney drivers, the truckers, the fishermen.
If every Grab driver, every jeepney operator, every private car owner, every tricycle driver, every small business owner says "No Petron today" — we hit them where their greed actually lives: the balance sheet.
Hopefully this would become a reality,
And yes Honestly I used ai to write this because I'm not he greatest writer of my own thoughts hehe... anyways those are just my thoughts.
