Court oil ruling hits Ramos reforms

A shadow has been cast over the economic liberalization programme of Philippine president Fidel Ramos with the Nov 5 1997 ruling by the country's Supreme Court that a law deregulating the oil industry is unconstitutional. The court has scrapped the law, saying that it encouraged monopolistic power and hindered fair competition. Under the legislation, state subsidies were abolished and market-determined pricing introduced. It also opened the way for new firms to enter the market. It is thought that scrapping the law could threaten new investments of some $400 million in 1997-99.