With this increase, unleaded gas costs an average of P56.46, up P12 as of end January, and it's not even the end of June.
The cynics among us know that the skyrocketing price in crude oil has less to do with supply than greed, fears, and speculations. Everyone believes it's going to hit the $200 per barrel price, even $250 per barrel according to the chief energy analyst of Deutsche Bank.
The fear engendered by what can befall the various industries feeds the demand, and so the cycle continues to spiral up, feeding more fear.
The greater fear is that for the poor. Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. quoted estimates that a 10% increase in oil prices translates into an additional 160,000 poor people.
The end-January to June 16 increase already hit P12, an almost 30 percent increase or almost half a million more people living in abject poverty.
But we can't do anything at the moment but weather the difficult times. It doesn't mean we will just twiddle our thumbs and expect the worse.
With a population of 1.3 million, Davao City is already a metropolis bigger than most urbanized cities. But there is no mass transport to speak of, except jeepneys, provincial buses, and the ubiquitous multicab.
We know that all these equate to limited seats consuming so much gas.
The current events demand an energy-efficient mass transport that will bring people to their destinations at lower cost. But the equation does not end there. It may mean bigger savings for the commuters but will mean economic displacement of the small carriers, the jeepney drivers and their buddies the conductors.
All these have to be taken into consideration. The question of how we can move forward from here demands the contribution of all stakeholders, which can become a test on how government can lead its people toward the common goal of continued growth amid difficult times.
The answer may be elusive today, but we have to start somewhere, and the worsening situation every day demands that we start finding the solutions now. How? This too will be a test on how our city government can lead our people, starting today.
