|
Friday, February 21, 2003
Sienes: Gov't indifferent to oil price hike
By Cris G. Sienes
THE local chapter of a known militant group believes that oil companies in the country are simply using the tension in the Middle East as an excuse to justify the never-ending increases in their oil products. Which could be true.
But true or not, there's no gainsaying the fact that prices of oil products in the country are constantly going up. One oil company, in fact, just raised prices of its pump products by another 50 centavos per liter. These never-ending increases in oil products not only affect drivers but people in general.
Drivers now have to pay more per liter of gasoline or diesel, and this will greatly reduce their daily takes.
As increases in the prices of oil products also raise prices of basic commodities, transport fares, services, etc., they also burn holes in people's pockets.
The people have suffered enough from the constant upswing in the prices of oil products in the country. It's time for the government to intervene and come up with measures to bring oil prices down or ease the plight of the people.
Why the government refuses to do so is difficult to understand. Take
the oil deregulation law. It was supposed to encourage competition in the oil industry and bring prices of oil products down.
But the oil deregulation law failed to achieve its purpose. The three
big oil companies in the country continue to dictate the prices of their oil products. Even the very few new players in the oil industry also raise the prices of their oil products when the three big oil companies raise theirs.
Since the oil deregulation law has neither encouraged competition in
the oil industry nor bring prices of oil products down, isn't it about time that our lawmakers amend or repeal the oil deregulation law and come up with more effective measures to ease the suffering of the multitude? There were popular clamors for the amendment or repeal of the oil deregulation law, but our lawmakers simply ignored them.
There was also a proposal to put up a national oil exchange commission
to bring prices of oil products down. But as in the clamors for the
amendment or repeal of the oil deregulation law, the proposal was simply thrown into the waste basket.
The government exists to look after the welfare of the people.
Government leaders are there to represent the interests of the people. So why won't the government or our political leaders amend or repeal the oil deregulation law or put up an oil exchange commission?
At this point in time, anything is worth trying to try to prevent more
oil price increases and spare the people from more hardships. But the
government or our political leaders refuse to do so. Are they for the
people or for the oil companies?
But there's more. The Philippine Coconut Authority has developed and
has almost perfected the use of coco diesel for vehicles. So why won't the government pursue the full development of coco diesel so that we would at least not depend upon oil companies for diesel?
To reiterate, it's really difficult to understand why the government
won't try anything to bring oil prices down or ease the plight of the people as a result of the oil price increases. It owes it to the people to do so. Even if, after trying, oil price increases. It owes it to the people to do so. Even if, after trying, oil prices still won't go down, the fact that it tried would be a measure of consolation for our suffering multitude. It would show that at least the government cares.
We hope that, as in the case of the power bill, for whose enactment
many government leaders allegedly received grease money by the thousands, there is no money involved in our government leaders seeming indifference to the never-ending oil price increases.
Point to Ponder: "I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something I can do." --Edward Everett Hale |
|
[ return
to top ]
[ home
]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
