Tuesday, August 05, 2008 Cabaero: Shame campaign By Nini B. Cabaero Beyond 30
IT IS not enough that government agencies monitor the prices of fuel products of gasoline stations in Cebu City.
They must come up with a list of those stations that abide promptly with price rollbacks and do not cheat customers. And another list of those who cheat the public. Those who cheat by delaying a price reduction or by having a wrong calibration of pumps, by not issuing official receipts or by not abiding by their own rules regarding promos and raffles should be named to the public.
A rating of gasoline stations in the city by the local Department of Trade and Industry or the Department of Energy would go a long way in informing the public of what stations to patronize or avoid. A shame campaign would force these resellers to shape up and not get greedy.
Cebu City Councilor Edgardo Labella reportedly asked these government agencies to closely monitor fuel prices here as there were complaints of fuel retailers being “slow-footed when it comes to rolling back prices” and quick in implementing rate hikes.
The price of gasoline was rolled back by P1.50 per liter last July 31 and Aug. 1 as crude costs went down in the international market. But the price reduction did not take effect at the same time for oil companies as the three big players delayed the adjustment by a few hours.
The monitoring should take effect immediately because any price reduction would be “timely and a huge breather to millions of consumers nationwide,” Labella said.
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For people who cannot be in Beijing to enjoy the Olympics, the best way to participate in the worldwide camaraderie in sports is through the games’ official websites.
Information about the Olympic games that open this Friday, Aug. 8, are available at the official site of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at http://en.beijing2008.cn/ and at the online home of the Olympic Movement at www.olympic.org.
On these websites are announcements of latest happenings, news reports, schedules, transportation and ticket sales tips, multimedia galleries, online interactive mini games, “my story” sections, medal tallies and transcripts of daily press conferences.
In the press conference Saturday, there was one item about the English translation of menus in restaurants. Prior to the games, e-mail jokes were circulated about the funny translations of ordinary sayings from Chinese to English. These were no longer funny to foreign visitors and athletes now in Beijing who have to try to understand the food they were ordering off menus.
A journalist of Xinhua News Agency asked about the “very bizarre Chinese dish translations at the menu” at the Olympic Media Village.
Xiang Ping, deputy director of the Games Services Department and a former English teacher, explained that Chinese food names tend to be “very descriptive and very beautiful.” In an English menu, the customer knows if it is fish, meat or vegetables. But Chinese food names sometimes describe the food, not the ingredients.
In China, Xiang said there is a kind of soup called Fei cui bai yu soup. When translated, it is called “the crystal jade or white jade” and people will not know anything about it or what is in it. Xiang said it is basically a soup of vegetables and tofu.
