GASOLINE prices are set to increase by P1.00 per liter (/L) this week, oil companies advised on Monday, as they scheduled one of the biggest price hikes so far this year. Diesel prices will also increase by P0.80/L while kerosene will rise by P0.85/L to “reflect movements in the international oil market,” the petroleum retailers said. Most of those sent their advisories will be raising prices at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 8. For gasoline, the price increase will be second only to the P1.10/L rise recorded in the second week of April. This week’s adjustment is a big jump from last week’s rise in the prices for gasoline, diesel and kerosene at P0.35, P0.50 and P0.40, respectively. — Victor V. Saulon

DAVAO CITY — Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, after accepting over the weekend an apology from the proponent of the cancelled 200-hectare reclamation project, said she is standing by her decision and stressed that the venture “will not happen” during her term. She then told media that she is keeping quiet now on the issue. Ms. Carpio last week demanded an apology from Mega Harbour Port and Development, Inc. over the company’s letter in response to her decision to cancel the proposal. “(I)t is utterly fiddling of you to threaten me with a legal suit should I continue to fulfill my obligation to explain to the public why I terminated the agreement. And you certainly do not have the right to tell me how and when I should do my job,” said Ms. Carpio in her letter to the company last week. She added that she decided not to disclose “what information significantly formed part of my decision to terminate the agreement because I expected a legal case from your end. What I did not expect from you is to call me out as a reckless, callous and unethical individual.” Mega Harbour, in a July 27 letter, called the decision of the mayor “arbitrary” and claimed that the move has hurt the company’s reputation. Company officials declined to comment further for now. — Carmelito Q. Francisco