(Taguig City) – The Department of Energy (DOE) is set to meet the sector nominees of the independent review committee (IRC) on Monday to iron out the details of a review of oil firms’ books which is set to start next month.

Energy Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras will be meeting with the nominees of the IRC to finalize the details of the terms of reference (TOR) for the review. The TOR, drafted by the DOE in consultation with the sector, is being sent out to nominees for their comments/inputs so they may decide on whether to accept the nomination or not. The IRC will be composed of an economist, accountant, and representatives from each of the following sectors: academe, business community, consumer group, and public transport. The multi-sectoral, independent review is targeted for implementation on February 1.

DOE assures that the sector nominees, who were chosen by their colleagues from the sectors that they represent, were selected based on their credibility, competence, integrity, commitment, and leadership.

The DOE, by virtue of its powers under Republic Act 8479 or the “Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998” decided to organize an ad hoc IRC in line with its transparency efforts to provide the public information on the real scenario on local pump pricing and to determine if any of the oil companies have been accumulating excessive profits.