Mayor wants DOE to explain, solve higher price of fuel in city

BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio Domogan said that the alarming sky-high prices of fuel products in the Summer Capital is a “serious problem” that the Department of Energy (DOE) must immediately find a solution to. The Mayor lamented the fact that the price of fuel like gasoline and diesel here is higher than in the rest of the country. He expressed his disappointment over the DOE’s written explanation on the disparity that this was due to the distance in transporting fuel to the city. In Wednesday’s Ugnayan kay Mayor at City Hall, he pointed out that if this were so, then why are fuel prices lower in the neighboring towns of La Trinidad and Buguias in Benguet lower than in Baguio according to reports reaching his office. Domogan earlier asked the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to do something about the matter but the latter responded that it is only the DOE that has authority on fuel prices and that they can only monitor. The Mayor disclosed that he is now waiting for the DTI’s monitoring report so that he can write a letter to the DOE based on the DTI’s findings of fuel prices in the city. Domogan said he will also strongly urge the DOE to send its personnel to Baguio and see for themselves the situation and really find out the reason why fuel prices are more expensive here than in other places. He is also asking for community support and unity in demanding that the DOE explain the “unfair” disparity in fuel prices and immediately alleviate this serious problem faced by Baguio residents./Gaby Keith