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Energy
BillSBN-198420th Congress

Repealing R.A. No. 8479 (Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998)

In committee Filed Mar 17, 2026
◷ Where it standsIn Committee
FiledCommittee2nd Reading3rd ReadingBicamEnacted

Filed on March 17, 2026, and referred to the Committee on Energy; it has been pending in committee since then with no recorded action.

Should you care?
Relevance to you
Moderate

The bill addresses the management of fuel prices in the context of current geopolitical tensions affecting oil prices.

General publicOil companiesEnergy sector workers
Timeliness
Timely

The bill responds to current issues in the oil market, particularly rising prices due to geopolitical tensions.

Affects you ifOil consumersLocal oil industry playersEnergy regulatory bodies
Impact assessment
AI read — verify with source
Overall impact
6.1/ 10
Long title

Repealing R.A. No. 8479 (Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998)

Plain-language summary
AI Summary

This bill seeks to repeal Republic Act No. 8479, known as the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998, which currently allows for the deregulation of the oil industry in the Philippines.

What this bill actually requires
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ⓘ AI-generated — verify with the source.↗ Official Senate PDF
What changes from current law

Compared with current law:

Today

The oil industry is deregulated, allowing companies to set their own prices.

This bill

The bill would repeal the deregulation, giving the state authority to manage fuel prices.

ⓘ AI-generated comparison — verify against the bill and the cited law.
Ask this bill

This bill proposes to repeal Republic Act No. 8479, which is the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998, thereby restoring government control over fuel pricing.

Source · full text
Issue areas
EnergyEnergy regulationOil IndustryFuel Pricing

✦ Dashed tags are AI-suggested nuance; solid tags follow the committee taxonomy.

Legislative history
Mar 17, 2026Senate
Introduced by Senator VICENTE C. SOTTO III;
Mar 17, 2026Senate
Read on First Reading and Referred to the Committee on ENERGY;
✦ AI insight

Stalled: the bill has sat in the committee for several months with no action since its filing on March 17, 2026.

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Floor activity

No floor deliberations yet — this measure has not reached plenary. Its committee-stage actions appear under Legislative history above.

Full text
SBN-1984 — verbatim textAs filed

Senate office of the Seretary First Regular Session 26 MAR 17 P1:00 SENATE S.B. No. 1984 RECEIVED BY: INTRODUCED BY SENATOR VICENTE C. SOTTO III AN ACT REPEALING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8479 OR THE DOWNSTREAM OIL INDUSTRY DEREGULATION ACT OF 1998 EXPLANATORY NOTE Since 1998, I did not vote for the passing of the Oil Deregulation Law and in 2022, I pushed for the review of this particular law. RA 8479 liberalized and deregulated the downstream oil industry, intended to ensure true competitive pricing among players in the local oil industry. It allowed the local oil industry players to adjust the prices of gasoline, diesel, kerosene every week. Prior to RA 8479, the Energy Regulatory Board considered the dollar cost of imported crude oil and the foreign exchange rate, and fixed prices of petroleum products. A budgetary allocation maintained by the national government called the Oil Price Stabilization Fund (OPSF) automatically absorbed any price change incurred by the oil companies in importing crude oil, which is not reflected in the selling price. I It is high time to give back to the state the authority to manage fuel prices. Now that our petroleum prices are directly impacted by the geopolitical tension in the Middle East, transparency, scrutiny and uniformity in pricing are needed more than ever. In view thereof, immediate approval of this bill is requested. ' https://pidswebs.pids.gov.ph/CDN/PUBLICATIONS/pidseid0002-feb.PDF

Sentatt effier of the retary TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES First Regular Session 26 MAR 17 P1:00 SENATE RECEIVED BY: - S.B. No. 1984 INTRODUCED BY SENATOR VICENTE C. SOTTO III AN ACT REPEALING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8479 OR THE DOWNSTREAM OIL INDUSTRY DEREGULATION ACT OF 1998 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Total repeal of Republic Act No. 8479. This act shall

repeal Republic Act No. 8479 or the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act Of 1998. Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive order, letter 4 of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or 5 inconsistent with any provision of this Act as hereby amended or modified 6 accordingly.

SECTION 2. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is

9 declared invalid or unconstitutional, other provisions hereof which are not 10 affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.

SECTION 3. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take fifteen (15) days

following its publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspaper of general circulation. Approved,

Reproduced from the Senate document. The official PDF is the authoritative version.