Aside from saving fuel, which is something we should be doing all the time anyway, what else can we do to stop this cycle of dependency on global oil? Interesting how the national elections are coming in just in time this May.
Eighty pesos per liter. This is the price of gasoline in some areas in the country today. Let that sink in for a moment.
With fuel prices rising continuously for the eighth straight week, one has to wonder if driving a car or operating a transport or logistics business is still worth it.
But the ramifications of the rise in fuel prices transcend not just the car using end-consumer. It also directly affects the industries that rely on fuel for their operations. The higher the cost of production, the higher the cost of the product. This domino effect of consequences in the free-wheeling deregulated oil industry has been the bane of the capitalist society we have been living in for the past 24 years.
Ever since Republic Act 8479, or the “Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998,” was enacted, fuel prices have been dictated by the country’s Big Three oil corporations. At times, they have even been said to hold the prices of fuel hostage by acting as a cartel. By controlling and setting similar price points amongst them, oil companies effectively prioritize the maintenance of a healthy profit over the capability of the market, especially the poor, to afford their products. So in effect, the choices which we should have had in the free market, are limited by the cravings of the corporations that control it.
This time however, global oil prices have skyrocketed to astronomic levels and even oil companies are left with little choice but to ride the tide. It does not help that the Duterte Administration’s Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law has been imposing additional excise taxes on fuel since it took effect in 2018.
At currently P10 per liter for gasoline and P6 per liter for diesel, these additional taxes, on top of the existing ones from the oil deregulation law, only add to the misery of the consumer. There has been insistent clamor to implement a provision of the TRAIN Law that allows for the suspension of excise taxes on fuel. But this is contingent on the price of Dubai crude oil being at or above the $80 per barrel mark for at least three months. And we are not there yet.
We are however, coming closer to $100 per barrel now as geo-political tensions flare up in the Russia-Ukraine standoff. And as oil producing nations continue to keep their outputs low in order to maintain the high prices of their wares and allow them to recuperate from their COVID-19 losses in 2020 and 2021.
So here we are again, at the mercy of global capitalism. For a country that relies heavily on imports, it seems we have never learned our lessons.
Since the 1970s, we have been victims of the global oil crisis, manufactured or otherwise. Our energy production is still predominantly coal-based. The country has little or no oil reserves to protect the public and its industries. And we are far away from being self-reliant or self-sustaining even when it comes to our energy resources.
How ironic considering the country is said to be rich in natural gas and even has areas where wind and solar and hydro power can be harnessed. And yet we continue to play the pity card each time we are dealt a bad hand.
Aside from saving fuel, which is something we should be doing all the time anyway, what else can we do to stop this cycle of dependency on global oil? Interesting how the national elections are coming in just in time this May.
Perhaps we should choose a president, senators and congressmen who have similar plans to address this issue directly. Candidates who do not skirt around with motherhood solutions. Candidates who have a concrete, doable and realistic approach to solving one of the longest problems our society has ever had.
I will not name any candidate that fits this criteria. I leave that up to the collective vision of the voting populace. However, I will say that we have had too many years of inaction and fence-sitting when it comes to our energy reliance. Too many years of broken campaign promises and lost opportunities.
If we want to really see our nation take off, and our lives to turn for the better, this is the right time to choose the leaders who have the vision and the political gumption to ensure we get what we ultimately deserve. And all the while, let us hold them accountable for their future actions.
Meanwhile, maybe it is high time we all learn to ride a bicycle.
