Amidst the rising cost of fuel in the world market and the implementation of EVAT that resulted to a tremendous increase of oil products such as gasoline, (http://philippineenergynews.blogspot.com/2006/05/oil-prices-up-by-p050.html), Energy Companies still have the opportunity to gain profit that is even more higher than the previous quarter of the year and getting higher and higher every year, while in contrast, the oil prices is also getting higher almost every less than a month. Shell Philippines, for example, declared last April that their net income for the first quarter of 2006 is greater that their record in 2005. They declared this during the time when the oil prices rose almost every week and while the price of oil in the world market was trending upward.

Now, take a look at the electric power industry, while the cost of electricity climbs and remain as one of the highest in East Asia, generating companies still able to surpass its first quarter profit record in 2005. First Gen Corp, for example, posted an 18- percent increase in net income from $22 million in the first three months of 2005 (http://philippineenergynews.blogspot.com/2006/05/first-gen-income-climbs-to-255m.html) while Mirant Philippines reported a net income of $467 million in the first three months of 2006, a forty-fold increase over the $11-million income posted in the same period last year. (http://philippineenergynews.blogspot.com/2006/05/mirants-us-parent-posts-40-fold.html).

It’s not amazing because energy companies are among the top 20 profitable companies in the Philippines. As of 2004, they were listed in top 6, 9, 12, 13, 14, and 15 in the ranking ;

1) PLDT P27.97 billion,
2) Smart Communications P19.6 billion,
3) Bayan Telecommunications, Inc. P14.2 billion,
4) Bayan Telecommunications Holdings P14.03 billion,
5) Globe Telecom P11.25 billion,
6) Mirant Philippines P10.77 billion,
7) Pilipino Telephone Corp. P9.75 billion,
8) San Miguel Corp. P8.08 billion,
9) Mirant Sual Corp. P7.73 billion,
10) Bank of PI P6.66 billion,
11) Nestle Philippines P6.13 billion,
12) Mirant Pagbilao Corp. P5.73 billion,
13) Chevron Texaco Malampaya P5.49 billion,
14) First Gas Power Corp. P5 billion,
15) First Gen Corp. P4.96 billion,
16) SM Prime Holdings Corp. P4.62 billion,
17) TI Philippines 4.57 billion,
18) Innove Communications P4.34 billion,
19) Philippine Telecommunications Investments Corp. P4.15 billion, and
20) Bacnotan Consolidated Industries P4.08 billion.

Aside from generating companies, the National Transmission Corporation (Transco) which charges the consumers for the delivery of energy is also earning a net annual income of Php 12 Billion to Php 15 Billion.

Isn’t Ironic? Don’t you think?