Tagbilaran City Mayor John Geesnell Yap II maintains his “heart“ and compassion towards his constituents as he initiated a meeting with gas station owners for a possible reduction on the prices of petroleum products being sold in gas stations based in the city.
As a result of the meeting, almost all gas stations in Tagbilaran implemented a price reduction, Mayor Yap told The Bohol Tribune in a telephone interview yesterday, Jan. 30, 2021.
The meeting took place on Jan. 8, 2021, the mayor added during the telephone interview.
In the same telephone interview, Mayor Yap said that he asked the gas station owners why prices of petroleum products in the city are higher compared to prices in other towns in Bohol like in Dauis and in Ubay.
The gas station owners pointed to the high cost of rent in the city as one of the culprits driving the increase in fuel products’ prices, the mayor revealed.
After the meeting, the gas station owners in the city started to offer reduced prices of petroleum products, as reported by the City Media Bureau.
Yap further revealed to The Bohol Tribune that he also wrote a letter to the Big 3 oil companies—Petron, Shell and Caltex— to look into the possibility of having sustainable less expensive fuel prices here.
The mayor’s meeting with the gas station owners is a knee-jerk reaction to the public clamor regarding the high fuel prices in the city.
The Sangguniang Panglungsod initiated an investigation on the high prices of fuel products here during the first regular session of the chamber this year.
Another probe is being conducted at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan that is also regarding the high fuel prices.
The probes of the two (2) august bodies are yet to reach their respective conclusions.
It has been observed that prices of fuel products in Tagbilaran are higher compared to other cities in Central Visayas such as in Cebu City and in Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental. This is based on the information presented during the Jan. 8, 2021 session of the Sangguniang Panglungsod.
The mayor wanted to find a fix to the problem of high gas prices in the city especially with the growing public clamor.
“We have been extending help to our constituents in terms of health protection against the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with this, we also want to provide some relief in terms of their financial situation. Thus, with the discussions we have had with the gas station owners. We are optimistic that the gas prices will be adjusted accordingly”, Yap said.