President Hipolito Mejia said yesterday that he would not negotiate with the National Association of Gas Stations (Anadegas), saying that their demands are coercive and their timing is off. ??Forget about it! They are not getting anything?they are just blabbering?? said Mejia. Anadegas is fighting for an increase to the profit margins of gasoline and diesel, and has called on its member stations not to restock. Some stations will see their supply of gasoline depleted as early as today, but not all gas station are members of Anadegas.
Anadegas argues primarily that the current profit margin is an amount of approximately three pesos per gallon and not a percentage of the price. This means that if the price of gas increases their percentage decreases. Secondly, they say that certain losses created by temperature (94 cents/gal), evaporation (80 cents/gal) and shipping and handling (50 cents/gal) are not being taken into consideration.