THE Department of Energy said that a week before people troop to the provinces for the long weekend, oil companies will be raising their pump prices. This was based on the first 4 days of trading on the Mean of Platts Singapore. "Base sa 4 na araw ng trading sa Mean of Platts Singapore, magkakaroon ng pagtaas sa lahat ng produkto ng petrolyo gaya ng gasolina, diesel at kerosene," according to Rodela Romero, Director 3 of the DOE Oil Industry Management Bureau. She said that as per their calculations, an above P1 per liter increase in diesel and kerosene prices and above 50-centavo increase in gasoline prices will be seen next week. The rise in the price of petroleum products can be attributed to the drop in US crude stockpile. The call of Iran on members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to impose an oil embargo and other sanctions on Israel also had an effect.